The Royal War
by Silverwing7500
Summary: Its been three years since Marcus Daemon and co. saved the two worlds, and King Drasil and his Royal Knights have been enjoying a peaceful time. But things heat up when a new, unknown Digimon challenges Omnimon to a battle, and a war becomes imminent for the King and his knights soon afterwards. There's more to this mysterious Digimon and his unusual friends than meets the eye!
1. Part One: The Challenge

The Royal War

Part 1

The Challenge

"Hey, Omnimon," Gallantmon called. Gallantmon was a Digimon completely covered in red, gold, and silver pure Chrome Digizoid armor. The red visor on his helmet had two yellow eyes and a set of teeth on it, and a long strand of silver hair flowed out of the top. A Digital Hazard symbol was emblazoned in the center of his chest, and several Zero Units dotted his body. His right and left arms could transform into his lance, Gram, and shield, Aegis, respectively.

"The Swanmon Mail Service just came by, and there is a letter addressed to you," he announced.

"What is so important about it?" Omnimon enquired, approaching Gallantmon to take the letter in question. Omnimon was a tall Digimon covered in almost completely white armor and black limbs. He had blue eyes and no actual hands. His right hand was in the shape of a blue metal wolf head, strongly resembling that of a MetalGarurumon, and his left hand was in the shape of an orange metal dinosaur head, which bore a strong resemblance to that of a WarGreymon. Omnimon's left shoulder was flat and shield-like, red on the outside and orange in the inside with the Crest of Courage in the middle, while his right shoulder was blue and spherical with several yellow spikes on it. In the middle of his chest was the combined Crest of Courage and Friendship. He also wore a cape that was white on the outside and red on the inside. "Why would you need to tell me about it directly?"

"Because it appears to be a challenge," Gallantmon told him as he handed the letter to Omnimon.

"A challenge?" Omnimon echoed. "Why would anyone want to challenge me? And look- there is no return address."

"Well, there's not any reason to ignore it," Gallantmon remarked. "Go on, open it."

It was indeed a challenge to Omnimon, and as Gallantmon looked over his shoulder, Omnimon read. "I would like to have the honor of fighting you, Omnimon. Meet me at the lake two miles southeast of the Server Tree at sunrise tomorrow. If you do not come, then I will come to you. And if I win, I would like you to consider me joining the Royal Knights."

Gallantmon whistled as Omnimon closed the letter. "That challenger of yours seems to be bold to challenge the leader of the Royal Knights. And I wonder who it is? He did not leave a return address."

"We shall find out tomorrow," Omnimon said as he walked over to a ledge to look out over the land. From this high up in the Server Tree, he could see the lake that the challenger spoke of in the afternoon sunlight.

The Sever Tree was the home of King Drasil, a being considered to be a deity in the Digital World, and served as the home and headquarters of the Royal Knights, a group of powerful Mega Digimon that only revealed themselves to the outside world in times of crisis. The tree itself was were all of the digital information of the whole Digital World was connected and monitored by the Royal Knights. Omnimon himself was the current Royal Knight in charge of the entire force during the absence of Alphamon, the previous leader who went missing, without any explanation, quiet some time ago. Gallantmon was Omnimon's oldest friend in the Royal Knights, and the two of them share a close bond.

"So you're actually going to accept the challenge?" Gallantmon inquired as he joined Omnimon on the ledge.

Omnimon sighed as he turned his back to the lake. "I have a reputation to uphold as the leader of the Royal Knights, don't I?" he responded. "If word got out that I refused to accept a challenge, then I might lose some authority and respect from other Digimon. Besides, even if I wasn't a member of the Royal Knights, I probably would have accepted it anyways; no one has ever requested me to fight them, so my interest has been peaked."

"And if you happen to lose?" came a voice. The source of the voice became clear as a blue ball of light appeared in front of Omnimon and Gallantmon. It was King Drasil, the king of the Digital World and whom the Royal Knights served. The king has no real physical form, so the appearance that he normally takes it a simple ball of blue light.

Both Royal Knights got down on one knee and bowed respectfully. "My king," Omnimon uttered. "I was not aware that you were listening."

"I know about everything that happens in this world," King Drasil reminded Omnimon. "Anyhow, what makes you think that you even need to dirty your hands on something as unimportant as a simple invitation of battle? You have more important tasks to worry about than something like that."

"Your honor, it is a matter of reputation," Gallantmon answered readily. "If Omnimon chooses to simply ignore a battle request, he might lose some respect from other Digimon."

"And if you happen to actually lose?" King Drasil inquired coolly. The change in tone was too easy for the two Royal Knights to not misinterpret; King Drasil had no doubt in his mind that Omnimon would win the battle.

"Then the Royal Knights shall gain a new member," Omnimon stated simply, keeping his eyes on the ground to avoid the king's burning stare.

There was a silence for a few moments, and then Gallantmon spoke up. "I could go with Omnimon," he said to King Drasil. Omnimon looked at Gallantmon out of the corners of his eyes, not daring to show any disrespect to their king. Gallantmon was looking straight at King Drasil. "I am curious about who this challenger is," Gallantmon continued. "Someone should probably witness the fight as to vouch for the winner. And if this is a trap, there will be one more Digimon to handle than the challenger will be expecting."

There was another silence for several seconds as King Drasil mulled over the options. Omnimon caught Gallantmon's eye, and Gallantmon winked. "Fine, the two of you can go," King Drasil finally announced. "Omnimon and Gallantmon, you two shall go and meet the challenger tomorrow at sunrise. I will stay here with the rest of the Royal Knights awaiting news. And if you happen to lose, Omnimon, I would like it if you brought the challenger here for me to see, if this is not some sort of trick."

"As you wish, my liege," Omnimon replied, bowing his head. "As the leader of the Royal Knights, I shall do my best to win."

ΩΩΩ

Late in the night, just before the full moon had reached the zenith of its arc across the sky, Omnimon found Gallantmon sitting on the same ledge where they had looked out across to the lake earlier that afternoon.

"You're still awake, Omnimon?" Gallantmon asked when he saw Omnimon approaching him, surprised. "There's not many hours left before the sun rises; you need to get as much sleep as possible before we have to leave at dawn."

Omnimon didn't speak until he had sat down next to Gallantmon. "To be perfectly honest, I couldn't sleep," he admitted to Gallantmon. "I've never been challenged to a fight before, and it sort of has me on edge. I couldn't stop the thoughts running through my head, so I decided to go out for a stroll around the Sever Tree to clear my mind. I saw you in here and decided to join you."

"This challenge is actually bothering you this much?" Gallantmon imposed.

Omnimon nodded. "It's been three years, ever since the fight involving the Human World and the Digital Worlds colliding, that I've felt this uneasy. I do not know why, but I have a strange feeling about this challenge."

"Is this one of your hunches?" Gallantmon asked sharply, turning to look at his friend. Omnimon was known to sometimes have preemptions about certain events that haven't entirely unfolded.

"No, it's nothing like that," Omnimon answered, shaking his head. He looked up at the full moon, taking in the starry sky. "It's just…I feel like something big is about to happen. Something that even us Royal Knights will be unable to stop."

"If it's worrying you that much, then why don't the two of us arrest the challenger when we meet him and interrogate his motives?" Gallantmon put in. "If what your gut is telling you is true, than the challenger is more than likely involved with that feeling you have."

"Once again, you're wrong about what I'm feeling," Omnimon sighed, tearing his eyes away from the sky and looking at Gallantmon. "The feeling I have isn't about the actions of my challenger, it's more like…what's going to follow the challenger."

At this point, Gallantmon became even more confused, so Omnimon put the topic aside. "Forget that I said anything about this," Omnimon said as he got to his feet. "I'm feeling better now that I've somewhat lightened this feeling pressing down on my chest. Thanks for listening to me ranting like that."

"You better be asleep when I come to get you at dawn," Gallantmon called after Omnimon when Omnimon had reached the entrance to the room. "I'll have a Sorcerermon come to your room in a half hour to put you to sleep if you aren't already by then."

Omnimon raised his hand in silent farewell and left his old friend alone under the starry sky.

ΩΩΩ

It was dawn when Gallantmon entered Omnimon's chambers to awaken him. He found Omnimon out cold at his desk with a copy of the Server Tree's Digimon Records in front of his head.

 _Sorcerermon must have not given Omnimon any warning before casting the sleeping spell._ Gallantmon though as he uncorked a little vial of pure spring water that he was holding. In order to wake up a Digimon under a sleeping spell, water was vital for the process. Gallantmon unceremoniously splashed all of the water onto Omnimon's face.

A little later, Gallantmon once again entered Omnimon's chambers to find Omnimon downing a few mouthfuls of food and water. "It's almost time," Gallantmon declared as Omnimon drained the last of the water from his mug.

"I'm ready when you are," Omnimon told him after he had swallowed his last mouthful of water, placing the mug back down on the desk top.

While the two Royal Knights made their way towards the nearest exit in the Server Tree, they passed by several of the other Royal Knights in the passageways. A few of them muttered, "Good luck," to Omnimon as they stepped aside to let their leader go by.

The sky was a light grey as the two of them exit the Server Tree, and the stars on the lightening horizon were winking out one by one. "Let us be off," Omnimon declared, and the two of them took off in the sky.

"Hey, Omnimon," Gallantmon called over the howling wind, "are you ready for this?"

"As ready as I can be, I believe," Omnimon replied. "How about you, Gallantmon?"

"I'm just curious about who this challenger is and how strong he is."

"We'll find out soon enough," Omnimon remarked. "We're here."

The two Royal Knights landed on the lakeside. It was a rather large lake, surrounded by forest on all sides. As the Royal Knights stood waiting patiently, the sun peeked over a mountain in the distance. A bird began to sing, and more and more birds joined the first as the sun rose higher. When the sun broke away from the top of the mountain, Omnimon crossed his arms. "He's late," he growled.

"No, wait- listen," Gallantmon cut in, leaning over with a hand to the side of his head. Omnimon listened, and after a moment, his arms fell back to his sides. The birds had fallen silent, too.

There was music- an unearthly, harmonious melody. Just from listening to it, Omnimon could feel himself relaxing, the tension in his battle-ready body loosening itself. Omnimon also had a feeling that there was a certain power behind the music. As if answering his thoughts, sprouts shot out of the ground all around the lake and grew taller, unfurling their leaves. As the buds on the tips of the plants grew and expanded, a figure stepped out of the forest. When the sunlight hit the figure, the buds exploded into gold, blue, and purple wildflowers all around the lake, creating a very beautiful sight.

The figure was a tall, purple, dragon-like Digimon almost completely covered in blue armor with gold trimming. He wore a white vest-like piece of clothing with blue trimmings on his back, chest, and stomach that was held in place by three orange diamond-shaped clips that connected it to the armor on his upper body, and his head was completely incased in a silver helmet with large, gold spikes at the top. There were zigzag-shaped gaps that resembled two long rows of sharp teeth at the front of the helmet to allow air inside. There were also two small, circular holes directly underneath the spot where the nose was. The end of his tail, which had three spikes at the end, was armored as well, and his feet had two toes on the front and one on the back. Sprouting from the armor on the end of his tail were three short, orange spikes, and there was one long, orange spike on each of his knees. His wings were blue with stiff, white skin stretched between the blue spines that were connected to a thicker, black spine on the top of each wing. In one hand, he held an over-sized lance on a gold staff with a golden dragon head on the bottom, and in the other hand, he held a leaf to his gaps in his helmet in front of his mouth, which was the source of the music.

As the music hit one final, wavering note, the dragon knight Digimon removed the leaf from his helmet. "To be perfectly honest, I wasn't sure if you were going to show up or not, Omnimon," he spoke. "And not only did you show up early, you brought Gallantmon with you, too. How nice. If I'm going to be a Royal Knight, I'll need to be more punctual."

"Identify yourself and state your business with me," Omnimon ordered.

"Identify myself?" the Digimon repeated, throwing the leaf onto the winds. "I don't think so. You won't need to know my name unless I am to be a fellow member of the Royal Knights. However, my business with you, Omnimon, is a different story. I want to test myself and see how strong I have become after training for the past five years. The Royal Knights are the only ones around who could actually provide a challenge for me. I also want to see if I am good enough to be a Royal Knight."

"Identify yourself," Omnimon restated.

There was silence for a moment, but the Digimon finally answered. "My name is Equistedramon."

ΩΩΩ

Omnimon was thrown off guard for a moment by the sudden change in Equistedramon's attitude. In that moment, Equistedramon disappeared from Omnimon's line of vision, and suddenly, Omnimon felt the tip of Equistedramon's lance on his throat. Gallantmon turned to look at Omnimon and his eyes widened in shock at the sight.

"It looks like round one goes to me," Equistedramon whispered just loud enough for Omnimon and Gallantmon to hear. "Would you like to go for round two?" Equistedramon jumped back, and Omnimon took a deep, shuddering breath.

"You certainly move fast, Equistedramon," Omnimon admitted. "You completely disappeared from my sight."

"That's just the tip of the iceberg," Equistedramon told him. He disappeared again, and then a large group of Equistedramon seemingly appeared to surround Gallantmon and Omnimon as the afterimages from Equistedramon's speed became visible. "I can go a little faster, if you want," came Equistedramon's voice.

"Impressive," Omnimon observed while Gallantmon looked around them in amazement. "Gallantmon, why don't you step back? I think I'm going to enjoy this."

"Yes sir," Gallantmon responded, who then leapt high in the air and floated there, looking down on the fight below. Omnimon raised his right hand, and the metal wolf head, which was the head of a Digimon called MetalGarurumon, opened its mouth, and a cannon mouth stuck out. " _Supreme Cannon!_ " Omnimon shouted, firing a large orange ball of energy from the cannon at one of the afterimages. All of the afterimages except for the one in the path of the energy ball disappeared.

" _Dragon's Breath!_ " Equistedramon called, and a large blue flame shot out of the gaps in his armor covering his mouth. The blue flames hit the energy ball in midair, enveloping it and sending it straight up in the air, forcing Gallantmon to move out of the way. The resulting explosion was massive, and the shockwaves were felt by the Royal Knights still at the Server Tree, including Magnamon, a Digimon that looked like a blue lizard with golden armor. As Magnamon raced through the passageways to an opening in the Server Tree, he met up with Crusadermon, a Digimon covered in pink armor with yellow, ribbon-like weapons.

"It would appear that Omnimon's fight is getting explosive," Crusadermon commented as she and Magnamon ran side by side down the passageways.

"If you ask me, this is getting out of hand," Magnamon remarked as they left the passageways and came out onto a ledge that faced the lake. A large, black cloud had formed over the lake, and lightning was lacing through it. Thunder was constantly booming, making Magnamon's ears ring.

"Maybe we should go and check on Omnimon and Gallantmon," Crusadermon suggested as the cloud dissipated. "This fight seems to be pretty serious."

"There's no need," Magnamon assured her. "I heard that King Drasil sent Leopardmon to keep an eye on the fight, and to also end this challenger of Omnimon's if there is actually a chance of Omnimon losing."

"So King Drasil went behind Omnimon's back?" Crusadermon asked. "Still, Leopardmon is a perfect choice for that kind of job. He's better at stealth than any other Digimon I know."

Back at the lake, Equistedramon and Omnimon were facing off, sliding in and out of battle stances, circling one another. Abruptly, Equistedramon stood up straight. "Sorry, Omnimon," he called out, "but I need to take care of something really quickly. Give me a moment, okay?" Omnimon stood up straight, too, looking puzzled as Equistedramon pointed his lance into the forest. A small ball of white light appeared on the tip.

" _Sleeping Dragon!_ " Equistedramon cried. A thin beam of light shot out of the ball at the tip of the lance and penetrated the edge of the forest. There was an audible grunt, and then a crash as something fell out of the trees.

"That was Leopardmon, wasn't it?" Omnimon questioned, coming to stand next to Equistedramon.

"Correct," Equistedramon stated. "I would have to think that you king sent him to watch us, and to possibly help you if you were in trouble." Equistedramon looked at Omnimon with his solid yellow eyes, realizing in the while that they were the same height. "Do not worry about him: I just put him to sleep. He should wake up in a day, more or less." Equistedramon turned to look back into the forest.

" _Transcendent Sword!_ " Equistedramon turned to find the tip of a sword, black with silver edges and Digicode written in yellow down the middle of the blade, on his throat, just like how Equistedramon had won the first round. The blade protruded from the mouth of the dinosaur head, which resembled the Digimon called WarGreymon, on Omnimon's left hand.

"That's unexpected," Equistedramon commented calmly. "I didn't expect the leader of the Royal Knights to take advantage of a conversation to gain the upper hand in a fight."

"I would believe that this round goes to me," Omnimon remarked as he stepped back. "Shall we move to the tie-breaker match?"

"Sure," Equistedramon replied. "But first, aren't we forgetting something?"

Omnimon looked confused. "What are you talking about?" he inquired. "What could we have possibly forgotten?"

Equistedramon smiled underneath his helmet, a motion that, not to his surprise, went unnoticed by Omnimon. "We forgot to eat breakfast!"

ΩΩΩ

Gallantmon looked on in disbelief as the two Digimon below put away their weapons and shook hands. Equistedramon looked up at him. "Hey, Gallantmon!" Equistedramon called out. "Do you want to come down here and join Omnimon and me for breakfast?"

Gallantmon blinked, taken aback by the unexpected question, but after a moment, he flew down to join the two fighters.

"Okay, what would you two like to eat?" Equistedramon inquired after Gallantmon joined him and Omnimon on the grassy shore of the lake. "There's an easy supply of Digibytes, Meat Apples, and fish around and in the lake."

"I wouldn't mind some Meat Apples," Gallantmon put in.

"I would prefer Digibytes," Omnimon added.

"Then I'll have some fish," Equistedramon concluded. "There is a whole grove of Digibyte and Meat Apple trees a short distance south of here." Equistedramon put his lance down in the wildflowers. "Let's meet back here in a bit." And with that, Equistedramon dove into the lake.

Omnimon and Gallantmon soon returned with their meals, but Equistedramon had not returned yet. While they waited for him, they began to talk about the unusual Digimon.

"I've never heard of a Digimon named Equistedramon before," Omnimon said after swallowing a mouthful of the grain-like Digibytes that grew on trees in honeycomb-like containers, "and I would remember if there was a Digimon by that name in the Royal Knights' Digimon Records back at the Server Tree because I have gone through it so many times. The Royal Knights have been around since early times; how could we not know about all the different Digimon out there?"

"That just goes to show that we do not know everything about the world," Gallantmon commented, staring at the silver Meat Apple in his hand. He then looked out over the lake. "Speaking of Equistedramon, where is he? He hasn't surfaced once since we've been sitting here. I do hope that he is doing fine."

Just then, a section of the lake near the center started to froth and bubble as if it was boiling. As the two Royal Knights leapt to their feet, the surface of the water broke, and Equistedramon jumped into the air yelling a war cry, holding a huge fish above his head.

"What's up?" Equistedramon inquired, landing in front of Omnimon and Gallantmon. "Why are you two staring at me?"

Omnimon and Gallantmon looked at each other, then looked back at Equistedramon.

"That's a rather large fish," Gallantmon finally said.

"Seems to be a big meal, if you ask me," Omnimon added.

Equistedramon had turned his back to the Royal Knights and had begun to clean and gut the fish with his claws over the edge of the lake. "You're right, Omnimon," he answered. "It does seem to be a big meal. However, even though this was the biggest fish I could find in the lake, it's actually a really tiny meal, compared to what I usually eat."

The two Royal Knights looked at each other again. "But that has to be at least fifteen pounds," Omnimon observed.

"Like I said, it's really small." Equistedramon finished cleaning the fish. " _Dragon's Breath!_ "

A blue fire engulfed the fish, cooking it. The smell of cooking meat suddenly filled the air. Equistedramon cut of his flames, and the fish reappeared, perfectly cooked.

Just as Equistedramon was about to start on his fish, Gallantmon stepped in. "Hey, Equistedramon," he called. "Can you help me out with my meat apples?" He held up one of the silver apples.

Equistedramon looked at Gallantmon, and then the teeth-like gaps in his helmet visibly widened. Gallantmon dropped the apple and jumped out of the way just in the nick of time.

" _Dragon's Breath!_ " The blue flames covered the small pile of silver apples for a second before dying out, leaving the apples a tarnished silver color.

Gallantmon walked back over, his cape flapping angrily. "You could have warned me before torching the apples," he told Equistedramon.

"Would you have preferred them raw?" Equistedramon asked. He sniffed the air, then added, "Well, enjoy yourself. I can smell hamburger and hotdog among those apples." And then Equistedramon started on his fish.

Omnimon and Gallantmon watched in part amazement, part disgust as Equistedramon inhaled the fish. Within five minutes, the bones had been picked clean and thrown into the lake. Equistedramon belched, leaned back on a tree, and began the tedious task of picking his teeth clean through the gaps in his helmet with a claw.

"Excuse me for my lack of manners," he muttered. "Eating without any peers around that care for five years can do that to a Digimon."

"Indeed," agreed Gallantmon. "You are going to have to work on your manners before meeting King Drasil. It is not a good idea to get on the king's bad si—!"

"Look out, Omnimon!" Equistedramon suddenly shouted, jumping to his feet. He rushed at Omnimon and shoved him over just as a red and yellow beam shot out of the forest. The beam hit Equistedramon squarely in the chest.

ΩΩΩ

"Equistedramon!" Omnimon cried as he got to his feet. He ran to stand next to Equistedramon, who was down on one knee and hand, the other hand over the spot where the beam had hit him. "Are you all right?!"

"I'll be fine," Equistedramon wheezed as Omnimon helped him to his feet. "Sorry about shoving you, but if you had been hit by that, it would have been it for you."

"What was that?" Gallantmon asked.

"I know that attack very well," Equistedramon said as he let go of Omnimon and stood on his own. "It was more than likely a Gizumon-XT. That beam destroys any Digimon it hits and permanently deletes their data."

"Gizumon-XT?" Omnimon repeated. "Aren't those the Digimon that the human Kurata created and attempted to destroy all the Digimon with them just because he was afraid of us? I thought he was defeated by Marcus Damon and his friends three years ago! Why are the Gizumon-XT sill around?"

"There are still a few stragglers around," Equistedramon informed him as he bent over to pick up his lance. "They're also still programmed to delete Digimon and take their digital energy. I always make sure to take care of them whenever I come across one. I thought I got the last one a year ago." He looked into the forest. "Come on out here, Gizumon-XT!"

For a second, nothing happened. Then, a tall figure stepped out into the open. It was machine-like in appearance, with a purple sphere for the head with a red eye in the center and a smaller, yellow eye directly on the top left of the first eye. On top of its head was a small rectangular grey box with an orange light in the middle. The arms were made of flat, green cord-like bands with black connectors evenly spaced out down the length of the cords. Under the head were three grey spheres on top of one another with two perpendicular black rings on each sphere. Its legs were very similar to its arms.

Before the Gizumon-XT could take another step, Equistedramon disappeared from Omnimon's side. An instant later, he reappeared in front of the Gizumon-XT and drove his lance deep into the Gizumon-XT's head, right where the eyes were. Equistedramon jumped back, with his spear still in hand, just before the Gizumon-XT exploded into innumerable tiny pieces.

"That takes care of that," Equistedramon puffed as he landed next to Omnimon. He grunted and fell to one knee, hand once again on his chest.

"Equistedramon!" Gallantmon cried. "You're not fine at all! We need to get you some help!"

"I'm telling you, I'll be fine," Equistedramon grunted, brushing away helping hands and getting to his feet on his own. "I've been hit by those beams before and survived, so I think I'll be fine now."

"How come you haven't been deleted yet?" Omnimon questioned. "You just said it yourself: Digimon who have been hit by a Gizumon-XT immediately disappear forever!"

"I'm not sure myself," Equistedramon admitted. "There's pain, but there's nothing really to worry about. I guess I'm immune, but I don't know why it's just me." He looked at Omnimon. "Are you ready to finish our fight?"

"You're in no condition to fight," Omnimon protested. "And in my opinion, you have already proven yourself to be worthy of the title of a Royal Knight."

"Bah, I'm just fine. And I'm not going to join the Royal Knights unless I defeat you. Let's finish this."

"If you're sure about this," Omnimon conceded. "Gallantmon, go ahead and step back."

"Yes, sir," Gallantmon said, jumping back up into the sky.

Equistedramon and Omnimon looked at each other in silence, unspoken words being exchanged between the two. But as the peace couldn't last forever, Equistedramon drew his lance while Omnimon drew his sword, and the two met head to head, sparks flying and thunder crashing whenever the two met.

ΩΩΩ

It was sunrise the next morning by the time the fight finally ended. King Drasil and the five other Royal Knights still at the Server Tree knew the fight was over when Gallantmon came to bring them to the scene of the fight.

"So, Gallantmon," King Drasil began, "can you tell us who won? And where is Omnimon?"

"You should all come and see for yourselves," Gallantmon told them, completely ignoring King Drasil's query. "It is truly a sight to behold."

"Hold on, Gallantmon," Magnamon cut in. "You did not answer King Drasil's question. Where is Omnimon?"

"Have faith, my dear friend," Gallantmon replied. "You'll see when we get there."

So Gallantmon, King Drasil, and the five other members of the Royal Knights all began to head towards the lake, or rather, what use to be the lake.

King Drasil and the five Royal Knights who stayed at the Server Tree didn't get much sleep the night before due to the fact that large-scale explosions were heard, and even felt, throughout the majority of the night. Now they could see the devastation caused by the fight.

The lake was gone. An explosion at the river where the water exited the lake had caused all the water in the lake to rush out, completely draining the lake causing it to look very much like a large crater. Smaller craters dotted the lake bottom and the surrounding area, and much of the nearby forest had been destroyed. In the middle of the lake bottom, inside a large crater, laid Omnimon and Equistedramon, side by side. The armor on both Digimon was dented and rented in a multitude of places, although there wasn't a single scratch on Equistedramon's exposed skin. The blade that protruded from Omnimon's left hand had shattered, and Equistedramon's lance had broken in half.

Gallantmon, King Drasill, and the other Royal Knights landed next to the two injured Digimon. Another Digimon with black and white armor, yellow hair, and a pair of small, white wings was bent over Omnimon, but straightened up when Gallantmon and the others landed.

"Leopardmon," Gallantmon said. "How are they doing?"

Leopardmon shook his head. "Both of them got hurt pretty badly, but Omnimon got the worst of it. We actually might lose him at any time with the condition he's in."

"Isn't there anything we can do to help them?" Crusadermon queried.

Leopardmon shook his head again. "I've treated them as best as I could, but when I did a quick digital scan, Omnimon's code was going haywire. I've only ever see the digital code do something like that when the Digimon is about to die, but that was ten minutes ago. By all rights, Omnimon should be dead already. His will to survive and live is incredible!"

Just then, Equistedramon moaned. "Hey, Equistedramon is coming around!" Gallantmon cried as Equistedramon slowly opened his eyes.

"Hey, Omnimon," Equistedramon muttered. "Are you there?"

"Yes, I'm here Equistedramon," Omnimon responded.

Leopardmon stiffened with shock. "What? Omnimon is awake as well?! But he shouldn't even be conscious right now!"

"I think it is safe to say that this fight ended in a draw." Equistedramon murmured, as if he hadn't heard Leopardmon speak at all.

"No, Equistedramon, you won," Omnimon told him, who also hadn't reacted when Leopardmon spoke. "I barely have any strength left to even move. I can even feel myself slipping away right now."

"That's not going to happen." The change in Equistedramon's tone surprised everyone, changing from a voice of exhaustion to a voice filled with determination and strength. Equistedramon further surprised them by sitting up and grabbing the two halves of his lance.

"What are you doing?" Omnimon asked, lifting his head up just a bit off the ground.

"Saving your life," Equistedramon answered, getting to his feet. He picked up Omnimon with one hand and slung him over his shoulder. In one jump, Equistedramon leapt out of the lake and onto the grass where he, Omnimon, and Gallantmon had enjoyed breakfast the day before. Omnimon had been propped up on a tree trunk by the time King Drasil and the Royal Knights joined him and Equistedramon.

"To be able to do that while in the condition he is in," Leopardmon whispered to Gallantmon. "Equistedramon is a very stubborn and tough Digimon."

"I know, and he was injured before his last bout with Omnimon," Gallantmon whispered back. "He got hit by a beam from a Gizumon-XT and still managed to give Omnimon the beat-down."

Equistedramon was staring at the two halves of his lance that were in his hands. The two halves began to glow with a golden light, and Equistedramon threw the two halves into the air. " _Dragon's Clockwork!_ " Equistedramon shouted, his hands still above his head.

The two halves of Equistedramon's lance froze in mid-air, then began to spin like the hands of a giant clock in reverse. A loud ticking sound reverberated through the air, and with each tick, golden light pulsed outwards from the two halves of the lance, illuminating everything in a golden halo.

Then the music started.

Everyone, who had been looking up at the halves of the lance, looked down to see that Equistedramon was playing a leaf that he was holding to his helmet. It was the same glorious and harmonious music he played when he first met Omnimon and Gallantmon. With every note he played, the golden light grew brighter and brighter. When the melody hit the most beautiful note, there was a bright flash of golden light, and everyone covered their eyes. When they opened them again, there was a beautiful sight before their eyes.

No evidence of the fight remained. The craters were gone, the trees of the forest had regrown, and the lake was a lake again. A million points of golden light floated through the air like fireflies.

There was a grunt, and everyone turned to see Omnimon getting to his feet, without a scratch on him or his armor. All signs of damage had disappeared from Equistedramon, too; both he and Omnimon had completely healed.

The music hit the final, wavering note, and Equistedramon lowered the leaf from his helmet. The golden light faded, and Equistedramon's lance fell to the ground, whole again.

"How do you feel, Omnimon?" Equistedramon questioned, extending a hand towards him.

"I feel just fine, thank you," Omnimon replied, grabbing Equistedramon's hand and shaking it. "And it is my honor to extend an invitation to you to join the Royal Knights, Equistedramon."

Equistedramon's helmet shifted very slightly, and Omnimon realized that Equistedramon was smiling underneath his helmet. "It would me my honor, Omnimon."

"Then the Royal Knights welcome you as our newest recruit, Equistedramon."


	2. Part Two: The Recruit

Part 2

The Recruit

"Hey, what's the big idea?" Equistedramon shouted as Magnamon and Craniamon, a Digimon with blue and purple armor, two purple tuffs hanging from the top of his helmet, and a blue and red sash hanging from his waist, restrained him. "What is going on?"

Gallantmon held up a hand. "Sorry, Equistedramon," he said, "but every new member of the Royal Knights has to go through a physical examination before entering the main part of the Server Tree. You might have a virus or something of the sort that we do not know about, and we cannot risk King Drasil becoming infected. The king is very weak without a proper body."

"Okay, but why are you restraining me?"

"To be honest, none of us Royal Knights or even King Drasil have heard of or seen a Digimon like you, Equistedramon," Omnimon told him as he entered the room. "There is not even a single mention of a Digimon by that name in our Digimon Records. So King Drasil issued for you to go through a full body scan. We tend to study any new Digimon that we come across, which really does not happen very often."

"But I'm not a lab rat!" Equistedramon called out as Magnamon and Craniamon dragged him out of the room. "Let go of me!" Gallantmon and Omnimon heard a couple of cracks, and Craniamon's voice could be heard. "Stop struggling, Equistedramon! You would make it a lot easier for all of us if you would just listen to us!" Another crack rang out, and Craniamon shouted, "Oww! Stop hitting me! You're actually cracking my armor!"

Gallantmon turned to look at Omnimon. "Why do you think Equistedramon is acting like this?" he questioned. "Why would he struggle so much against having a physical examination?"

"Who knows?" Omnimon replied, shrugging. "Maybe he just doesn't like to be studied like a new species or something of the sort. But you're right: it is an odd reaction."

Meanwhile, Magnamon and Craniamon finally managed to get Equistedramon into the medical room, but Equistedramon fought so much against being laid down on the table that Craniamon had to call Dynasmon, a Dragon Digimon with light purple skin, white and gold armor, and ragged, purple wings, to help restrain Equistedramon while Magnamon strapped Equistedramon to the table, but not before Equistedramon managed to get a few more dents in their armor.

"Equistedramon, if you were not struggling so much, we would already be done," Magnamon panted as he tightened the last strap. He picked up a syringe from a nearby table and drew close to Equistedramon's left side. "All we need is a small sample of your digital energy, then we will have a quick scan while you are still strapped down, and then we will be done. It should take less than two minutes." He lowered the needle to the inside of Equistedramon's left elbow. "Relax, and this will be over before you know it."

"Wait, stop!" Equistedramon yelled as the needle pierced his skin.

Magnamon knew that with Equistedramon struggling so mush against the restraints that the digital energy was going to come out much faster than if Equistedramon was relaxed. But what Magnamon didn't expect was, instead of a clear liquid with a few bright glimmers filling the syringe, a dark red liquid poured into the container. The red liquid came out with such force that some of it hit Magnamon right in his face, some of which managed to get into his eyes.

Shouting in surprise, Magnamon dropped the syringe and covered his face, trying desperately to get the blood out of his eyes. He stumbled back a few paces and fell down, knocking over several tables with medical instruments on them, breaking a few of them.

During the crashing and yelling, Equistedramon broke the restraints holding him down. He leapt to his feet and raced out of the room and down the passageway while Craniamon and Dynasmon helped Magnamon to his feet.

"That wasn't digital energy, was it?" Dynasmon asked as he handed Magnamon a white cloth to wipe off his face.

"Definitely not digital energy," Craniamon agreed. "It looked more like…."

"Blood," Magnamon finished, rubbing the cloth across his eyes. "It was blood."

"Blood?!" Dynasmon exclaimed. "But Digimon don't have blood! Only humans have blood!"

"That Digimon becomes more and more interesting every minute," Craniamon stated.

The three of them heard hurried footsteps in the hall, and Omnimon and Gallantmon appeared at the entrance of the room.

"What happened?" Gallantmon inquired. "We heard yelling…" his voice faded away as he looked around the room.

"What is all of the commotion about?" Omnimon demanded. "And where is Equistedramon?"

Magnamon removed the cloth from his face and held it out to Omnimon. "Your friend ran off. And look at what we got out of him instead of digital energy." Omnimon took the cloth and examined the large, red stain on it closely.

"That's blood isn't it?" Gallantmon observed as he looked at the small mess of it on the floor. "But why would there be-?"

"We will think about that later," Omnimon interrupted. "Right now, we need to find Equistedramon. Do you three have any idea which way he went?"

Craniamon shook his head. "We were distracted by helping Magnamon. We were not paying any attention to which way Equistedramon went."

"I know how we can find him," Dynasmon spoke up. As everyone looked at him, he explained. "Equistedramon should still be bleeding. That means there should be a trail of blood that he left behind."

They checked outside the entrance, and sure enough, there was a trail of small drops of blood that lead deeper into the Server Tree. Omnimon and Gallantmon left to follow it while Magnamon, Craniamon, and Dynasmon stayed behind to clean up the mess Equistedramon had caused in the medical room.

Omnimon and Gallantmon continued to follow the blood trail, sometimes losing it but then to find it on a different level of the Server Tree. They finally came to an entrance to a room that filled the passageway with the golden light that streamed out of it. There was a ticking sound and a soft sound of music, and the two Royal Knights knew immediately that they had found Equistedramon.

When the golden light had faded away and the music and ticking had died out, Omnimon and Gallantmon entered the room to find Equistedramon sitting on a ledge facing the open afternoon sky. There was a small pool of blood next to him, and the blood flow had just stopped on his arm. The only evidence that Equistedramon had been hurt at all was the blood itself. Equistedramon had healed himself.

"So now you know that I'm not an average Digimon," Equistedramon said without turning around.

"Equistedramon, we already knew that you weren't a normal Digimon," Gallantmon told him. "This incident just, well, makes things a little more complicated."

"Yes, this incident surely calls for unusual behavior," came a voice from behind them. Omnimon and Gallantmon spun around to see that King Drasil and the six other Royal Knights were crowded at the entrance of the room.

As Omnimon and Gallantmon got down on one knee at the sight of King Drasil, Equistedramon looked over his shoulder. "Hey, King Drasil," he greeted, his voice sounding uncaring. "What are you doing here?"

The blue ball of light that was King Drasil pulsed, and all of the Royal Knights flinched, knowing that it was a sure sign that their king was angry. "Watch that tone, Equistedramon, when you talk to me," the king warned.

"Fine," Equistedramon conceded, turning to look back out over the land. "What do you want?"

King Drasil pulsed again, and Omnimon threw Equistedramon a warning glance. _He is either very brave or very foolish._ Omnimon thought. _Right now, though, he's playing with a fire that could easily burn him._

"I will pretend that I did not hear that since it is your first day with the Royal Knights," King Drasil said quietly, "but be careful when you speak to me from now on. Do I make myself clear?"

There was a moment of silence, and the air was crackling with tension as everyone waited to hear Equistedramon's response.

Equistedramon got up and turned around, falling to one knee and lowering his head. "Yes, my liege," he answered respectfully.

There was an audible sigh as several of the Royal Knights released their pent-up breath.

"That is more like it," the king growled. "Now, could you please explain your actions during the physical examination, and what reason could you possibly have for blood flowing through your veins instead of digital energy like every Digimon should?"

Equistedramon looked up and King Drasil, then back at the ground. "If you truly want the truth, my king, then I will tell you. A little more than five years ago, I was captured along with several other Digimon by Kurata, the man who was responsible for the worst day in digital history, the creation of the Gizumon, and for the Human and Digital worlds almost colliding."

"What did he do to you and the other Digimon?" King Drasil questioned.

"He experimented on us," Equistedramon answered. Omnimon noticed that Equistedramon's fists was shaking slightly, and when Equistedramon spoke again, his voice shook with anger. "I was the only one who survived the first few experiments, and Kurata became personally interested in me. He took me to his labs in the human world and told me all about his plans for wiping out all Digimon. Then he began to experiment on me for cross-breeding humans and Digimon. At that point, I lost my memory of everything before the experiments. All I remember is the pain I went through while floating in that vat and the name that Kurata called me by: Equistedramon."

"How cruel," Craniamon muttered. "He treated Equistedramon like he was a dumb animal."

"Kurata said that I was the only Digimon to survive his experiments, and when he realized that I had lost my memories, he figured that he could let me roam a little. He put a collar around my neck and told me that if I left his labs, the collar would shock me and delete me."

"That is something that no Digimon should go through," Dynasmon growled, his hands curling into fists. "How did you escape from him?"

"It was two months before Kurata left me alone long enough from me to break the collar and escape. I found one of those space-oscillation devices of his and made my way back to the Digital world," Equistedramon continued. "I decided to train for five years to become strong enough to get my revenge on Kurata. Even though I heard that he had been defeated three years ago, I continued to train. While I was finishing my training, I decided to challenge Omnimon and see if I was worthy of being a Royal Knight. And that is how I ended up here."

There was silence as everyone digested the story that they had just been told. "And have you regained any of the memories that you lost?" King Drasil inquired, breaking the silence.

Equistedramon shook his head. "Everything before I was experimented on is foggy to me, my lord."

"Well, that explains why he struggled so much against having a physical examination," Crusadermon spoke up. "You were having flashbacks of your time being kept in Kurata's lab, weren't you?" Equistedramon nodded.

"That also explains why he has blood instead of digital energy," Dynasmon added. "He was experimented on for a human-Digimon hybrid. The experiments on Equistedramon was probably the beginning of the Bio-hybrid humans that Kurata created."

"I have a question for you, Equistedramon," came a voice. Equistedramon looked up to see a tall, muscular, white Digimon with gold, silver, and blue armor. His head was blue with a pair of almond-brown eyes and two white horns. There was a large, gold V on his chest, and he had blue and pink wings.

"I haven't properly introduced myself, have I?" he said. "My name is UlforceVeedramon. I was wondering why, if you knew that Kurata had been defeated, you still continued to train."

"Kurata is still out there somewhere, I just know he is." Equistedramon replied to a stunned audience. "When he destroyed the barrier between our world and the human world, he disappeared. But I believe that he's just floating around somewhere between dimensions, and I'm willing to bet three days' worth of Digibytes that he's planning on returning soon."

There was another moment of silence, which was again broken by King Drasil. "But until the time comes for us to need to worry about Kurata, we have other things to do," he stated. "As per tradition, Equistedramon, you will keep vigil tonight until sunrise tomorrow morning for you first night. You will rest tomorrow, and the day after that, I will send you out on your first mission."

Equistedramon bowed his head. "My king, may I ask about the reason for this mission?"

"I can explain that," Omnimon intervened, rising to his feet. "Every Digimon that has been recognized by King Drasil or one of the leading Royal Knights, such as myself, has to complete a mission assigned by King Drasil before they can be fully accepted into our ranks. And as you can probably deduce, I have already recommended you to King Drasil about the position. However, every mission is different from the one before, so that the Digimon in interest will not be able to fully prepare for it, as it is supposed to test your very limits. But if you happen to fail the mission, then you will never be able to try for the position of a Royal Knight ever again, and you will not be allowed to return to the Server Tree or be in King Drasil's presence, either."

"Simply beating one of my Royal Knights is not enough to become one," King Drasil told Equistedramon when Equistedramon looked at him questionably. "We have established ways to recruit members since the Royal Knights were first founded. But I will have you know, Equistedramon, that no new member has ever joined us since the Royal Knights first formed. The missions are meant to be hard."

"But do not lose hope because no Digimon has ever completed the mission before," Gallantmon added. "I believe you can do it, Equistedramon. And I would enjoy it if you managed to join us: it might make things more interesting around here. Now, do you have any questions?"

"Actually, I do," Equistedramon responded. He looked at King Drasil. "What's the point in keeping watch tonight if I'm not even a full member of the Royal Knights yet? I haven't really slept since the night before last."

ΩΩΩ

"Ouch," Equistedramon moaned, rubbing the side of his helmet where the beam of light from King Drasil had hit him. It felt like a huge bee had stung him under his armor.

"That's what happens when you tick off our king," Omnimon told him as he joined his friend under the starry night sky.

"I know, but I still don't understand what I said wrong," Equistedramon muttered as he laid back in the grass under the branches of the Server Tree, still rubbing the side of his helmet. "I thought it was a reasonable question. And even though it happened hours ago, it feels like it just happened a moment ago."

"Most Digimon pass out from pain after being hit by that beam, including us Royal Knights," Omnimon said. "You have to have an extremely high pain tolerance to stay awake and to be fully functional right after that. I'm impressed, Equistedramon."

"Thanks, but that doesn't really help the pain," Equistedramon grunted. "Have you ever gotten on King Drasil's bad side?"

Omnimon thought about it for a moment. "Once, when the Royal Knights were first founded," he finally answered. "It was many years ago, and I was young and reckless. I became overconfident after Imperialdramon sought me out to be his successor as the leader, and I told King Drasil that maybe I would take over as king next."

Equistedramon whistled. "From what I've seen, our king has a short fuse," he observed. "How mad was he?"

"Oh, he was absolutely furious. Imperialdramon had to cool him off before he could hurt me even more, since I was already close to death by the time Imperialdramon found us. Regardless, it was a week before I regained consciousness. But I had learned my lesson: I have not mouthed off at anyone since."

Equistedramon chuckled, and Omnimon gave him a questioning look. "I was just imagining you being foolish, Omnimon," he explained, "and that's hard to imagine. But what's funny is thinking about how King Drasil looks when he's blowing his top off. Does he turn red and start bouncing off the walls, blowing steam?" Equistedramon laughed harder.

"Shh! Do not say that! King Drasil might hear you!" Omnimon scolded, although he found himself laughing, too.

"And how did Imperialdramon cool him off?" Equistedramon went on. "Did he get a bunch of Frigimon to Sub-Zero Ice Punch him?"

Equistedramon and Omnimon laughed even harder, both of them on the point of tears.

"Oh, I have not laughed this hard since Jesmon left us all those years ago," Omnimon panted, wiping his eyes. "If King Drasil had heard you, he might have actually turned red with anger."

"Then we would have really known what he looks like in that kind of situation," Equistedramon wheezed, still chuckling. After a moment, he calmed down. "Omnimon, why don't you go and get some sleep," he told Omnimon. "It's my night to keep watch. You don't have to stay up with me."

"Now that I think about it, I have not slept since the night before last, either," Omnimon said. "I think I will go and get some sleep." He stood up. "Good night, Equistedramon."

"Good night, Omnimon," Equistedramon called back. "Get a good night's rest." Equistedramon waited until Omnimon was gone, then stuck his hand inside his armor. Pulling out something slim and rectangular, he unfolded it and began to work.

Unaware to Equistedramon, high above in the Server Tree, UlforceVeedramon was watching him.

ΩΩΩ

The sun was starting to rise the next morning by the time Equistedramon finished what he had started the night before. He sighed as he re-examined the program, checking for any bugs. "It's finally done," he murmured. "I hope he likes it."

"What are you doing?" asked a voice behind him. Equistedramon was so startled that he almost dropped the laptop he was holding.

"Geez, don't scare me like that!" Equistedramon said as he turned around to see UlforceVeedramon, Omnimon, and Crusadermon standing behind him. "I could have had a heart attack!"

"What are you doing?" Crusadermon repeated. "What is that in your hand?"

"It's a laptop," Equistedramon answered simply.

"Yes, but where did you get it?" Omnimon questioned. "And what were you doing on it all night instead of keeping watch like you should have?"

If Equistedramon felt guilty about being caught red-handed, he didn't show it. "If you want to know, I took this laptop from Kurata's labs when I escaped. And I was up all night keeping watch _and_ designing a program for Omnimon."

"Designing a program?" UlforceVeedramon echoed. "Where did you learn to program?"

"Did you really think I wouldn't learn a thing or two during the two months I spent trapped at Kurata's labs?" Equistedramon asked. "You might not think this, but some of the workers and researchers there were very kind to me while I wandered around the place. They taught me some very interesting skills, with programming among those skills."

"Okay, so what is this program for?" Omnimon inquired.

"Here, I'll show you." Equistedramon rapidly pressed a few buttons on the laptop. "Okay, Omnimon, look at your hands."

"What for?" Omnimon said as he looked at them. Then he froze.

Instead of the MetalGarurumon and WarGreymon heads for his hands, a pair of black-clad hands with yellow, claw-like fingers had taken their place.

"I have uploaded the program to Omnimon's interface," Equistedramon explained as the three Royal Knights looked at him. Equistedramon continued to explain while Omnimon began to test his new hands. "Those hands are strong and durable enough to crack pure Chrome Digizoid. And if you ever need to use your Supreme Cannon, Transcendent Sword, or any other attacks, the MetalGarurumon and WarGreymon heads should reappear at will. They should also reappear if you or any of you nearby allies are in any sort of danger, like a warning."

"This is amazing, Equistedramon," Omnimon said in wonder.

"It's what I do best," Equistedramon told him, smiling under his helmet. He closed the laptop and put it back inside his armor. "I think I will be heading off, now."

Omnimon looked at him. "Where are you going?"

"I am going home to get some decent sleep," Equistedramon responded. "I haven't slept in over forty-eight hours. I'm bushed."

"Where is your home?" Omnimon questioned. "We need to know where to find you once King Drasil is ready for you."

"My home is in a cave on top of a mountain eleven miles north of here." Equistedramon pointed at a lone mountain in the distance. "It's called Dragonspiral Mountain. Do you see that clearing on the very top? That's where the entrance to the cave is." Equistedramon glanced at Omnimon. "The door will be locked, but you should be able to get it open, Omnimon. There will be a scanner next to the door. Place your right hand on it, and it should recognize my programming pattern in your hands and open. The door only opens for me or for something I programmed, so only Omnimon has direct access to me."

Without saying another word, Equistedramon flew off.

ΩΩΩ

The sun was high in the sky the next morning by the time Omnimon and UlforceVeedramon found the entrance to Equistedramon's cave. There was a solid, metal door in the side of a large rock. Just like Equistedramon said, there was a scanner at shoulder height next to the door. With UlforceVeedramon watching, Omnimon placed his right hand on the scanner, and both Royal Knights flinched immediately from surprise as a voice from nowhere spoke. "Analyzing…program found. Program belongs to Omnimon. Please state your business."

Feeling slightly foolish about talking to a door in front of another member of the Royal Knights, Omnimon leaned close to the scanner and spoke into it. "I am here to pick up Equistedramon on behalf of King Drasil."

"Searching Equistedramon's schedule," said the voice. "Searching complete. Request checks out. Welcome, Omnimon." The metal door slid open.

Omnimon stepped into a small room barely big enough to hold the four largest members of the Royal Knights. There was another metal door on the opposite side, but it was not open. Omnimon also noticed a panel of buttons next to the door that he had just gone through.

As Omnimon looked around, a sudden siren made him flinch yet again, and a red light began to flash. "Unidentified being entering the premises," came the voice again. Omnimon whirled around to see UlforceVeedramon frozen at the doorway, too shocked to move. "Please leave immediately."

"Wait!" Omnimon called out. "UlforceVeedramon came with me to pick up Equistedramon! Please let him come in!"

The flashing red light and the siren died out immediately. "Understood, Omnimon," called out the voice. A thin green ray of light appeared and traveled up and down UlforceVeedramon's body horizontally. "Upload complete. UlforceVeedramon now has access to Dragonspiral Mountain." A little panel in the wall next to Omnimon opened up, and a thin, mechanical arm came out, holding a small, thick rod with two points on the end. "Please press this, with the two points down, on any Digimon's forehead for five seconds to upload a program to their body to gain access to Dragonspiral Mountain," the computerized voice instructed. "If this is pressed for any longer than five seconds, the side effects could be dangerous, and, in worst-case-scenario, it can prove to be fatal. The program does nothing except to give Digimon access to Dragonspiral Mountain. This can only be used six times before becoming useless."

"T-thank you," Omnimon stammered, taken aback by the events that had happened before even finding Equistedramon. _If this is what the front door is like, what about the rest of the mountain?_ Omnimon wondered as he took the small rod. The mechanical arm retracted and the panel slid back into place.

"Descending to Equistedramon's private quarters," announced the voice as the door closed behind UlforceVeedramon. Much to Omnimon and UlforceVeedramon's surprise, the room began to move downwards, and they both realized at that time that they were inside an elevator.

"What an unusual way to welcome visitors," UlforceVeedramon muttered to Omnimon. "The security here is extremely tight. You actually had to beg the computer to let me in, and now neither of us are exactly the same as we were three days ago before we met Equistedramon. He has already changed you physically, and now I have been modified, too."

"Equistedramon is a rather…unique individual," Omnimon agreed. "He is the kind of Digimon who can change things on contact, that's for sure."

"Arriving at Equistedramon's private quarters," called the computer as the door on the other side of the elevator opened. UlforceVeedramon and Omnimon stepped out into a short tunnel lit by torches hanging in brackets on the walls that eventually widened into a large grotto at the end.

The two Royal Knights looked around in amazement as they looked around the grotto. Almost the whole cave was littered with different machines and computers. Wires covered the floors and walls while avoiding the burning torches that lit the place. In a far corner of the cave stood a suit of armor that looked incomplete; parts were scattered around it. In the center of the cave stood a large bronze statue of a winged dragon, its maw open in the direction of the elevator as if it was breathing fire. There was a plaque set in the granite slab that the dragon stood on, and as Omnimon and UlforceVeedramon approached it, they could make out what it said.

"To Equistedramon, for all of your years of hard work as Founder and Major General of the DragonForce Army, we thank you for your leadership! Live a long life as you go on from here, and we hope that your path crosses with ours someday again in the future! We will never forget you!"

-The DragonForce Army Council

UlforceVeedramon whistled while Omnimon continued to stare at the plaque in disbelief. "I have heard rumors about that army," UlforceVeedramon muttered, "but the DragonForce Army is so secretive that there are no solid details about it. Their strength is supposed to rival that of the Royal Knights! And to think that Equistedramon was the Founder _and_ the Major General of the DragonForce Army; it's unbelievable! You would think he would tell us a detail like that before!"

"Well, to the best of my knowledge, the DragonForce Army was supposedly founded about ten years ago," Omnimon commented. "Maybe Equistedramon doesn't remember his time with them, and all he has from his time there is this statue from them."

"Hey, do you hear that?" UlforceVeedramon suddenly asked. Omnimon listened, and he soon recognized the sound of somebody snoring coming from somewhere close by. They followed the sound and found Equistedramon, out cold, sitting at a table between the dragon statue and the suit of armor. There were circuit boards and other small machines lying in pieces along with many small tools all around him. Equistedramon was snoring so hard that small screws on the table were bouncing high into the air.

UlforceVeedramon grabbed Equistedramon's shoulders and started to shake him. "Hey, Equistedramon," he called. "Wake up, it's us. King Drasil is waiting for you."

The snoring stopped, and Equistedramon stirred. "Is that you, Shoutmon?" he moaned. "What do you want? Did you break you mic again?" Equistedramon opened his eyes, and when he saw UlforceVeedramon and Omnimon standing over him, he sat up so fast that his helmet hit the underside of UlforceVeedramon's chin, almost spearing UlforceVeedramon with the golden spikes on his helmet.

"Oww!" UlforceVeedramon yelped, jumping back and furiously rubbing his chin, which was already starting to bruise.

"Sorry, UlforceVeedramon!" Equistedramon apologized. "I wasn't expecting you, and you startled me!"

"Apparently," UlforceVeedramon grunted, still rubbing his chin, which had turned purple.

"Hold on, I'll heal that!" Equistedramon looked around and found a pencil on his desk. He broke it in half and threw it up in the air. " _Dragon's Clockwork!_ " While the golden light pulse, which was much dimmer due to the target area being so small, Equistedramon whistled the melody instead of playing a leaf, which gave the music an echoing quality from inside the helmet. A minute later, the bruise was gone from UlforceVeedramon's chin, and the pencil fell back down onto the desk, whole again.

"Thanks, Equistedramon," UlforceVeedramon said as he gave his chin one last rub. "Who is this 'Shoutmon' that you were talking about?"

"Oh, no one important," Equistedramon answered quickly, pushing back his chair and rising to his feet. "Come on, let's go. And please be careful to not trip on any of the wires or touch any of the instruments: they're very sensitive."

The trio of Digimon began to make their way back to the elevator. As they passed the dragon statue, UlforceVeedramon pointed it out to Equistedramon. "Why did you not tell us that you were the Founder and Major General of the DragonForce Army?" he questioned.

"Well, to be honest, I really don't remember them," Equistedramon admitted. "When I got back to the Digital world after escaping from Kurata's labs, I found the statue in a nearby cave. I don't remember my time with the DragonForce Army."

"But did you ever even try to find the DragonForce Army?" Omnimon inquired.

Equistedramon shook his head. "No, I have not, even though they probably could have helped me regain my memories. I was busy with thoughts of getting my revenge against Kurata, and I put my past behind me at the time. But now that I have finished my training, I think I'll go out and look for them when I have enough spare time on my hands. I want to know what I was like before I lost my memories, so maybe the DragonForce Army can help me reach that goal."

By the time Equistedramon finished speaking, they had reached the elevator door. Equistedramon placed his right hand on the scanner, and the door opened immediately.

"Welcome, Equistedramon," the computerized voice rang out as Equistedramon, Omnimon, and UlforceVeedramon stepped into the elevator. Equistedramon pushed a button on the panel that Omnimon had noticed earlier, and the button lit up.

"Ascending to the kitchens," came the voice as the elevator doors closed.

"Kitchens?" UlforceVeedramon echoed, looking at Equistedramon as the elevator began to rise.

Equistedramon rubbed his stomach. "Hey, I'm a growing Digimon! On top of that, I'm also a dragon! I have to eat before going out on an important mission!" He laughed.

"You know, I have never been in a place like this," Omnimon told Equistedramon. "And what is the point of the elevator?"

"The humans used them in Kurata's labs to get to different levels of the building quickly, and I thought it was a good idea, so I decided to replicate them." While Omnimon and UlforceVeedramon continued to look at him. Equistedramon went on. "This mountain home was designed to be a stronghold for many different kinds of Digimon in times of need, and the sheer size of it calls for quicker access around the place. My home extends throughout most of the mountain. I had some help extending the caves from some Digmon and Drillmogemon, and some Andromon and other machine Digimon helped me with the mechanical aspects. There are training grounds, storage rooms, bath, kitchens, bedrooms: you name it. My friends and I have gathered enough food to feed fifty Digimon for at least a couple of years."

"You never cease to impress me, Equistedramon," Omnimon said. "I think that if anything happened to the Server Tree, this would make a great second base for the Royal Knights and King Drasil." UlforceVeedramon nodded his head in agreement.

"Well, you would first have to check with the other Digimon that live here," Equistedramon sighed. "There's a large group of Digimon that live here with me. They used to travel together in a group under a powerful leader while fighting evil Digimon, but they got separated from their leader due to an accident that occurred while they were traveling, and they couldn't find him. I found them wandering around shortly after they arrived and gave them a place to sleep here a little less than three years ago-about the same time the incidents that Kurata caused were finally settled, in fact-and they've grown attached to me, so now we work and live together. They're a bit aggressive to outsiders, though, so be prepared if you happen to meet one of them."

"Arriving at the kitchens," announced the computer as the elevator slowed to a halt. "Sensors indicate that one Digimon is already inside."

"It seems that today is your lucky day, because it looks like you're going to meet one of them already," Equistedramon told the two Royal Knights as the elevator doors slid open.

Equistedramon, Omnimon, and UlforceVeedramon stepped out of the elevator and into a large hall. There were many tables of various sizes with matching chairs to suit all kinds of Digimon, and some of the tables didn't have chairs at all; Omnimon guessed that they were for Digimon who weren't very humanoid. In addition, there were cupboards hanging at different heights off the walls for easy food access.

Near the end of the room at a small table sat a Digimon. It was a small, red dragon with blue eyes and a spiky mouth. His forehead was V-shaped, and there were green headphones around his ears. His chest, stomach, hands, and feet were white, with black fingers and toes, and the joints appeared to be held together by screws. The Digimon also had a red tail. When the three large Digimon approached him, the Small Dragon Digimon looked up, and Omnimon saw that his face was covered in crumbs. There were two Digibyte containers in the table in front of him, and one of them was already empty.

"Good morning, Equistedramon, the small Digimon called. His face hardened at the sight of Omnimon and UlforceVeedramon. "Who are they?"

"Take it easy, Shoutmon," Equistedramon soothed. "They're friends of mine. Meet Omnimon, the leader of the Royal Knights, and UlforceVeedramon, another member of the Royal Knights." Omnimon made a slight bow while UlforceVeedramon raised his hand in greeting.

"Humph. Like I care," Shoutmon growled, turning back to his Digibytes. UlforceVeedramon made a move for Shoutmon, but Omnimon held out his arm and shook his head. Fortunately, Shoutmon was too busy stuffing his face to notice.

"Honestly, Equistedramon," Shoutmon mumbled around a mouthful of Digibytes, "I don't know why you would want to join those good-for-nothings. They weren't around when the others and I got separated from our leader."

"I'm sorry for the loss of your leader," Equistedramon replied coolly, "but it wasn't the Royal Knights' fault. You can't blame them for something that they didn't do. Speaking of which, where is the rest of your group?"

"Dorulumon and Cutemon went fishing, Ballistamon, Knightmon, and the Pawnchessmon are in the training grounds, Greymon and the Starmons are still sleeping, and Beelzemon, Mailbirdramon, and Sparrowmon went off for some aerial combat practice," Shoutmon replied, listing them off on his fingers. He looked up at Equistedramon. "By the way, have you finished fixing the thing I gave you?"

"There is just one more circuit that needs to be repair, and then it should be operational," Equistedramon answered, smiling underneath his helmet. "The next time I get to it, it should be functional."

"Umm, what is it that we are talking about?" Omnimon asked.

Shoutmon glared at Omnimon and opened his mouth, but before he could get a word in edgewise, Equistedramon intervened. "It's nothing important, really," he said, glancing at Shoutmon. Shoutmon closed his mouth; he had gotten the message.

"Anyways, would you two like something to eat and drink?" Equistedramon called as he walked over to a nearby cupboard hanging from the wall. "We have plenty of everything, including some Digijuice."

"I wouldn't mind some Digijuice," Omnimon called back, "but nothing too strong. I need to be clear-headed when we leave."

"The same here, please," UlforceVeedramon added as he and Omnimon sat down at a large table next to Shoutmon. "And can I also have a large container of Digibytes?"

Omnimon looked at his partner. "But you just ate ten pounds of fish before we left to come here!"

UlforceVeedramon rubbed his stomach just like Equistedramon had earlier. "Hey, what Equistedramon said on the elevator was right. We dragons have to eat!" He laughed.

"I swear," Shoutmon groaned as Equistedramon poured three mugs of Digijuice and got out several large Digibyte containers. "Equistedramon is strong, but he's too soft for his own good. That's just like an X-Antibody Digimon."

Omnimon and UlforceVeedramon stared down at Shoutmon in shock. "What did you just say?" Omnimon inquired as UlforceVeedramon got to his feet and stared at Equistedramon.

Equistedramon suddenly disappeared from UlforceVeedramon's sight and reappeared behind Shoutmon. The mug of Digijuice that Equistedramon had been holding before he appeared behind Shoutmon fell to the ground in front of the cupboard and broke as Equistedramon brought his fist down on top of Shoutmon's head.

"What have I told you about blabbing about that?!" Equistedramon shouted as Shoutmon fell to the floor. "It's bad enough to even speak about it, but you just said that in front of the leader of the Royal Knights! The leader! Do you have any idea on how much trouble I'm going to be in now?!"

ΩΩΩ

Equistedramon sat in his cell in the Server Tree, bound by chains on both his arms and legs. The chains that bound him were made from pure Chrome Digizoid, the strongest metal in the Digital world. In Equistedramon's case, he was strong enough to be able to easily break free, but under the current circumstances, he wasn't going to try it unless he couldn't find a way to talk himself out of trouble.

All of the Royal Knights and King Drasil had gathered in front of Equistedramon's cell, some of them, like Omnimon, UlforceVeedramon, and Gallantmon, expressing sorrow, while others showed disbelief and anger.

"I cannot believe that the X-Antibody still exists," UlforceVeedramon mumbled to Dynasmon. "I thought Omnimon got rid of it all when he reset the Digital world back to the way it was before the Yggdrasil created the X-Program."

"Yeah, I thought so, too," Dynasmon muttered. "I wonder how Equistedramon got his hands on it."

"Enough chit-chatting," King Drasil ordered, pulsing directly in front of Equistedramon's face. "What I want to know, Equistedramon, is how in the world you received the X-Antibody! I destroyed it myself!"

Equistedramon bowed his head. "Sir, I happened to come across a WarGreymon X a long time ago. He was dying, and he told me that he was the last survivor of one of the few mistakes my king, King Drasil, made. He said that if I had any compassion for him at all, then I would take the X-Antibody from him without any questions. So I took the X-Antibody from WarGreymon X right before he passed on."

"Why have you hidden this fact from us?" Gallantmon asked.

Equistedramon looked at Gallantmon, mildly surprised. "Because you would have killed me if you knew. Everything has the will to live, so everyone would fight and struggle, even against all odds, to extend their lives, even if it is just for a little bit. What I have done is no different. And besides, I really haven't been around here long enough to tell everyone my life story; I've been busy every time I come here."

"Is this why you wanted to join us?" Craniamon questioned. "So that our emotions would hinder us if we ever found out?"

"No," Equistedramon answered, shaking his head. "I don't play with others' emotions to get an advantage. That's a dirty and cheap trick, and I would never stoop so low for a longer life."

"Unfortunately, the fact that you are a friend of the Royal Knights does not change what must be done," King Drasil told him. "We must be rid of all of the X-Antibody and X-Program. You must be destroyed."

"Wait, my king," Omnimon pleaded, stepping between King Drasil and Equistedramon. "I understand that we must be rid of all the X-Antibody and X-Program, but don't you think that we could make an exception with Equistedramon?"

"He's already made some of us stronger than what we could have done on our own," UlforceVeedramon added, moving to stand beside Omnimon. "Take a look at Omnimon's hands, for example."

"And he's done nothing to harm us," Gallantmon put in, joining Omnimon and Gallantmon to stand between King Drasil and Equistedramon.

"Except for when he fought Omnimon and thrashed us when we tried to examine him," Magnamon muttered. Gallantmon glared at him, and Magnamon fell silent.

King Drasil pulsed, and the three Royal Knights cringed but did not back down. "What mutiny is this?!" King Drasil cried. "I understand that the three of you have created bonds with Equistedramon, but he does not even have the right to exist! He is the result of one of my few errors. Stand back, or you will all be deleted, too."

Omnimon, Gallantmon, and UlforceVeedramon hesitated, but after a moment, they all did as they were told.

"If I must be destroyed for your security, my lord," Equistedramon murmured as the King drew closer, "then so be it."

Without warning, there was a loud explosion, and part of the wall farther down the hallway blew out, leaving a huge hole in the wall.

"Shoutmon!" Equistedramon cried. "What are you doing here?!"

"What do you think?" Shoutmon called as he stepped out of the cloud of debris, facing the Royal Knights. He was holding a silver and gold mic in his hand. "Do you think I would let you be killed after everything you have done for me and my friends? I'll do anything to help you, even if I have to face the Royal Knights alone!"

"Why didn't you at least bring the others?!" Equistedramon shouted. "Go back before you get into trouble, too!"

"No way!" Shoutmon yelled. He held the mic close to his mouth, and it began to hum and vibrate. " _Bellow Blaster!_ " he shouted, and a large, orange energy attack shot out of the mic and made its way straight for King Drasil.

"I don't want to do this," Omnimon said as he jumped in front of King Drasil, "but I will not let any harm befall on my king! You leave me with no choice!" Omnimon raised his right hand, which then turned into the MetalGarurumon head. " _Supreme Cannon!_ " The light orange energy ball headed straight for Shoutmon.

"No!" Equistedramon cried. In an instant, Equistedramon broke the chains binding him, busted out of the cell, and jumped between the two attacks. "Stop it!" he screamed as the two attacks hit him. There was a blinding flash of light, and everyone covered their eyes. When they opened them again, a terrible sight greeted them.

There was no sign of an explosion, and Equistedramon still stood between Shoutmon and Omnimon, but something was wrong. Equistedramon's feet were turning grey, and the grey was climbing up his legs.

"Equistedramon!" Omnimon and Shoutmon cried simultaneously. They reached Equistedramon at the same time. The grey had reached Equistedramon's waist.

"What did you do to yourself?!" Omnimon shouted, grabbing Equistedramon's shoulders.

"I…I couldn't let my…friends get hurt…could I?" Equistedramon wheezed. "I absorbed your attacks using the X-Antibody's power, but it seems that my body can't handle the energy. It's shutting down and turning to stone as a way to control the excess energy. I don't have much more time."

"You fool! You knew that would happen if you did that, didn't you?!" Omnimon yelled, shaking Equistedramon. The grey had reached Equistedramon's chest.

"Like I said, I couldn't let my friends get hurt. And stop yelling; you're hurting my ears."

"Equistedramon…" Shoutmon's voice drifted off. "But you'll be coming back, right?"

"Unfortunately, I'm not," Equistedramon panted. The grey had reached his neck. "I'm not pure Digimon anymore, remember? I won't be reborn like everyone else." Equistedramon looked at Omnimon with a sharp look in his eyes. "Just don't hurt Shoutmon and his friends, okay?"

"Equistedramon!" Omnimon and Shoutmon cried as the grey covered Equistedramon's mouth and continues to the top of his head. Without warning, the stone body of Equistedramon tipped over. Before anyone could move to stop it, it had hit the ground and shattered to dust.

ΩΩΩ

"Perfect! This is just perfect!" Shoutmon yelled at Omnimon. "Not only have I lost my leader, but now my best friend, too! You Royal Knights never help out at all!"

"Do you think that you're the only one who just lost a good friend?!" Omnimon yelled back. "Equistedramon was a good friend to all of the Royal Knights!"

In the lull of their shouting, a voice spoke from out of nowhere. "Yes, Shoutmon, you were right about things being perfect," it said.

Omnimon looked around. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

"All in due time, Omnimon," came the voice. A large, purple fire suddenly appeared a little ways down the hall. "Now that Equistedramon is out of the way, I can come out and play." A figure stepped out of the fire. As the fire faded away, Shoutmon and the Royal Knights saw what they were up against.

It was Equistedramon, but something wasn't right about him. His skin was grey, and his armor had become black with blood-red trimmings. The lance he carried was jet-black, and the tip had hints of a rusty red color, like that of old, dried up blood. The skin stretched between the black wing frames was also blood red. But the eyes were the most startling: they were solid black, with no hint of any color.

"Is that you, Equistedramon?" Gallantmon inquired.

"Not quite," the figure replied, putting one end of the lance down on his shoulder. "I'm the darker half of Equistedramon that has been held in a different dimension by Equistedramon. My name is DarkEquistedramon."

"What are you doing here now?" Omnimon asked.

"Well, since you were kind enough to destroy Equistedramon for me, he's not around anymore to hold me back. I'm free to do what I want, and I think I'll start off by destroying you all!" DarkEquistedramon pointed his spear at the Royal Knights, and the tip began to glow with dark red energy.

" _Nightmare Dragonblast!_ "

The resulting explosion was incredible, and the force of it forced the Royal Knights and Shoutmon right out of the Server Tree and onto the ground below.

"The Server Tree!" Craniamon cried, getting to his feet. The Server Tree was a sight of total destruction. The blast from DarkEquistedramon's attack had obliterated much of the tree, and the rest had caught fire.

DarkEquistedramon appeared as the huge tree fell over. "This is the true power of Equistedramon and me," he told the Royal Knights and Shoutmon as they struggled to get to their feet. "Equistedramon and I have the same amount of power. The most he's ever shown you was only about thirty percent of his true power."

"What?!" Crusadermon yelped.

"You have got to be kidding us!" UlforceVeedramon shouted. "How can any one Digimon have that much power?!"

"Equistedramon has been toying with you and lying to you from the very beginning," DarkEquistedramon hissed.

"Lying?" Omnimon echoed. "What has Equistedramon been lying about?"

DarkEquistedramon smiled wickedly. "Don't you know?" he taunted. "Equistedramon is actually—!"

A beam of light came out of nowhere and hit DarkEquistedramon in the side of the head. It was the same beam of light that had hit Equistedramon two days ago.

But DarkEquistedramon gave no sign of being hit other than to look up to see King Drasil floating in the sky. "It looks like you want to be the first to go, King Drasil," DarkEquistedramon called as he pointed his spear at the king. "Fine, but when you're gone, I'll take over as the king of the Digital world! _Nightmare Dragonblast!_ "

None of the Royal Knights or Shoutmon could even move before the dark energy drew near the king.

In the instant before the attack reached the king, a silver bolt of lightning came down and intercepted DarkEquistedramon's attack. When the explosion occurred, it wasn't nearly as forceful as the first, and the only sounds that could be heard was that of sparkling electricity and that of a roaring fire.

"What was that?!" DarkEquistedramon screamed. "Who's there?! Show yourself!"

"What's the point in asking if you already know who's there?" came a familiar voice from out of the smoke. DarkEquistedramon cringed, and the voice spoke again. "So you do know who I am. You have every right to be scared."

"Wait…is that who I think it is?" Gallantmon asked as the smoke began to clear.

"It is!" UlforceVeedramon cried as the figure became clear.

"It's Equistedramon!" Omnimon and Shoutmon cheered as the last of the smoke was blown away, revealing Equistedramon, now sporting a cape that hung from the shoulder pads on his armor that was just like Omnimon's: red on the inside and white on the backside, floating in front of King Drasil, who was unharmed.

"You know, DarkEquistedramon," Equistedramon started as DarkEquistedramon looked at him with fear, "I learned and remembered a few things about myself while I was gone, I remembered that I had been holding a lot back without realizing it. I also remembered you, too, as I had completely forgotten all about you. And," he added, gripping his lance in both hands, which he continued to break in half, "it is not befitting of the Founder and former Major General of the DragonForce Army to be beaten by the likes of you!"

The two halves of the lance started to glow, then began to change. The half with the tip on it became a large, silver claymore with a gold handle and guard, a brown leather grip, and gold plating running down the middle of the blade. The other half with the dragon head became a large, white kite shield with gold trimming emblazoned with the combined crest of Courage and Friendship, exactly like the one on Omnimon's chest. A section in the center of the backside of his cape glowed red, and when the red glow faded, the Crest of Hope had been burned red into the cape.

"What you see know is my true form," Equistedramon announced as DarkEquistedramon stared at him with fear, "unlocked by the legendary Royal Knight, Alphamon, whom I met when I was away. This is my Royal Knight Mode!"

"Royal Knight Mode?" Magnamon repeated.

"And did he say that he met Alphamon?!" Dynasmon cried.

"I may not be a full member of the Royal Knights, but I do take pride in being recruited by them," Equistedramon said. "And even more so, I have my pride of being a dragon at heart. So I swear, on my pride as a dragon and as a Royal Knight, I will defeat you, DarkEquistedramon!" Equistedramon drew a golden star in the air in front of him with his claymore.

"This is for the Royal Knights and all dragon kind!" Equistedramon shouted. He stabbed the middle of the star with his claymore, and a golden color filled the inside of the star. " _Royal Dragon Destroyer!_ "

A large, star-shaped beam of silver and gold energy shot out of the star. It had hit DarkEquistedramon before he could even blink.

The air was filled with terrible screaming as DarkEquistedramon began to burn away. "Damn you, Equistedramon!" he screamed. "I'll be back soon, and I'll make you sorry that you ever existed!" As the energy beam faded away, the few burnt remains of DarkEquistedramon's body fell to the ground, where they shattered to ashes.

ΩΩΩ

"Equistedramon!" Shoutmon and several of the Royal Knights cheered as Equistedramon landed. Equistedramon's cape, sword, and shield began to glow, then dissolved into thin air, leaving Equistedramon with his lance again.

"It's good to have you back, Equistedramon!" Omnimon cried as he and the rest of the Royal Knights gathered around Equistedramon. Shoutmon jumped up and sat down on Equistedramon's shoulder.

"It's good to be back, everyone," Equistedramon told them, smiling. He looked over at the remains of the Server Tree, which was still burning a little. "Err, sorry about the Server Tree. DarkEquistedramon can be destructive whenever he first gets loose."

"It's alright," Craniamon stated. "You can undo the damage and return everything back to the way it was, right?"

"Sorry, but I cannot do that," Equistedramon responded. This was met by a stony silence. "I can't undo any damage done by DarkEquistedramon," Equistedramon explained. "We may have the same powers, but his energy wavelength is the exact opposite of mine. I can't do anything about energy that's the opposite of mine. Sorry, but the Server Tree is gone for good."

"Then what are we supposed to do for our headquarters?" Dynasmon growled.

Equistedramon clapped his hands. "Omnimon already has an idea that he spoke to me about just this morning that's okay with me."

Omnimon looked at Equistedramon. "Are you really sure about it? I really wasn't being completely serious when I said that, and I actually wasn't expecting us to lose the Server Tree at all, either!"

"It's fine, I promise," Equistedramon assured him. He turned to look at Shoutmon, who was still sitting on his shoulder. "What do you say, Shoutmon? You're representing your friends in this decision."

"Humph," Shoutmon muttered, crossing his arms. "Like I could turn my back on them now. Fine, but I still won't be easy on you guys."

"I think that we will be able to handle that," UlforceVeedramon said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Umm, could you four kindly fill us in on what you are talking about?" Gallantmon inquired.

Equistedramon spread his arms out wide. "You are all coming to stay at my home!" he announced. "I welcome you to Dragonspiral Mountain!"


	3. Part Three: The War

Part Three

The War

The sun was starting to set the next day by the time the Royal Knights and King Drasil had settled down at Equistedramon's mountain home. Omnimon and Equistedramon were alone in Equistedramon's private quarters. Omnimon was sitting at a table drinking Digijuice and eating some Digibytes while watching Equistedramon work on the suit of armor that stood in the corner of the cave.

"Equistedramon," Omnimon started, putting his mug down, "are you really sure about us Royal Knights and King Drasil staying here with you, Shoutmon, and the others?"

Equistedramon glanced at Omnimon as he swapped out the wrench he was holding for a small mallet. "How many times are you going to ask me that?" he asked. "I've already told you, it is fine. We have plenty of room and food here. You are welcomed to stay for as long as you want and need to."

"Yeah, okay…" Omnimon's voice drifted off. "Equistedramon, is it okay if I asked you something personal?"

"If it's about it being okay for you Royal Knights to stay here, then keep it to yourself."

"Don't worry, it's not about that," Omnimon responded, amused. "It's just that… well, while you were gone, DarkEquistedramon told us that you have been lying to us from the very beginning. I want you to be completely honest with me and tell me if DarkEquistedramon was telling the truth, and if he was, what you have been lying about."

Equistedramon fitted another piece of metal to the suit of armor. The suit appeared to be close to completion. "So that's what's been bugging you at the back of your mind all day, huh?"

Omnimon nodded. "Yes."

Equistedramon sighed. He put everything down that he was holding, turned around and leaned against the wall, looking straight into Omnimon's eyes. "Well, to be completely honest, I cannot tell you the absolute truth."

"Why?" Omnimon questioned, completely and thoroughly confused.

"Because I cannot tell you anything for certain since I don't really have the knowledge or memories to back it up, and I don't want to say something while risking it being an unintentional lie," Equistedramon explained. "DarkEquistedramon and I are… the same being. We are each one side of a coin. Neither of us can survive without the other one, but neither of us can die if one of us is still alive, so both of us have to be killed at the same time for us to be truly gone. That's why I was able to come back even after I was destroyed."

"Wait a minute," Omnimon interrupted, thinking fast. "If you came back in such a short amount of time, does that mean that DarkEquistedramon is back already?"

It took Equistedramon a moment to answer as he had recovered his tools and was picking up where he had left off. He was heating up the metal with his flame. "No," he finally replied as he stopped flaming the metal and began to reshape the red-hot metal with the small mallet in his hand. "I only came back so quickly because of a few unexpected developments. It should be at least a week from now before DarkEquistedramon can return. But back to your first question, Omnimon, DarkEquistedramon has the same memories as me because we are the same, and yet the opposite, being. However, DarkEquistedramon never lost his memories, so he knows much more about me than I do myself. So if he said that I was lying, then please understand that it was not my intention to do so."

"I hope so…" Omnimon murmured, taking a sip of his Digijuice. Other than the noises that Equistedramon was making working on the suit of armor, there was silence for a few minutes. Eventually, Equistedramon put down all of his tools and leaned against the wall, inspecting the suit of armor.

"It's finally done," he said, sighing. "After two solid years of hard work, my gift for King Drasil is finally complete."

Omnimon looked sharply at his friend. "That's a gift for King Drasil?" he inquired. "What is the king supposed to do with that? He has no body!"

"Don't you think I know that?" Equistedramon told him, smiling. "That's exactly what it is: a body for our king!"

ΩΩΩ

"Where is Equistedramon, Omnimon, and King Drasil?" Crusadermon wondered out loud at dinner later that afternoon. "I have not seen any of them in several hours."

"What I want to know is why the rules here are so strict," Magnamon muttered. "Equistedramon said that he couldn't treat us any better than the other Digimon that he's housing already unless we wanted arguments to break out, but having set times for meals and then sealing the cupboards and food storage rooms afterwards is slightly ridiculous."

"Equistedramon also told us, after you had complained about that, that he has to seal the cupboards and food storage rooms because there were several incidents where Shoutmon and his friend, Ballistamon, would sneak into the rooms and stuff their faces," UlforceVeedramon reminded him.

"Crusadermon's right, though," Gallantmon commented. "I haven't see the king, Omnimon, or Equistedramon lately, either."

The elevator doors opened, and everyone turned to see Omnimon step into the room.

"Hey, Omnimon," Leopardmon called, "have you see Equistedramon or King Drasil lately? We were just wondering where the three of you were."

Omnimon sat down at the large, round table with the other members of the Royal Knights before answering. "They are on their way up here right now," he replied. "But you might not recognized one of them.

"What do you mean by that?" Craniamon questioned.

"You shall see soon enough," Omnimon said as the elevator doors slid open. Equistedramon stepped out of the elevator, closely followed by the suit of armor.

The suit of armor stood as tall as Equistedramon, and the whole thing moved as fluidly as a really body. The limbs were made of silver Digizoid with gold Digizoid trimmings, and there were several golden spikes that sprouted from the wrists that curved up the side of the arms in a flowing motion. The metal torso was pure silver Digizoid with the Crest of Hope engraved in gold in the middle of the chest piece. There was a leather strap around the waist with two, large golden sword sheaths hanging from it with the sword handles extending outwards. A large, silver and gold shield was strapped to the back of the armor. The silver helmet had a pair of golden spikes attached to each side, and the helmet was topped off with a small, golden crown with artificial diamonds set in it. A cape hung from the back of its neck started off to be solid red, but then became a rainbow of colors as it approached the end. From within the eyeholes came a blue light; the exact same shade of blue that King Drasil was.

"Umm, why is that suit of armor waking on its own?" Dynasmon growled, cautiously getting to his feet. Everyone knew that Dynasmon was uneasy about being around something that couldn't be explained at first sight.

"Relax, Dynasmon," Omnimon soothed him, not even looking slightly perturbed at the sight of an empty suit of armor walking on its own. "Everyone, that suit of armor is actually our king, King Drasil."

There was a shocked silence as all of the other Royal Knights stared at Omnimon, then at the suit of armor.

"WHAT?!" all of them shouted. Several of them started choking on the food in their mouths.

Equistedramon snapped his fingers, and the choking stopped immediately as the food continued on its way down the throats of the choking Royal Knights.

"W-what do you mean…that that's King Drasil?" Crusadermon choked out. "And how did you just do that, Equistedramon?"

Equistedramon shrugged. "Hey, you can do many things if you put some power behind a simple movement. Anyways, Omnimon is right; what he said about that suit of armor being King Drasil is true."

"Hold it, Equistedramon," Leopardmon wheezed. "I still don't understand how you just managed to-."

"It does not matter if you understand or not," a familiar voice rang out from inside the suit of armor. A metal hand came up and lifted the helmet backwards on a hinge, reveling the blue ball of light that was King Drasil.

"Equistedramon has been working on this armor for two years as a gift for me," the king told his knights as he lowered the helmet. "It's meant to act as a proper body for me, and I have to be honest, it feels amazing to be able to move. It is a wonderful gift."

"I made it out of the purest silver and gold Digizoid that I could find," Equistedramon said to the shocked Royal Knights as they turned on him. "As it happens to be, when we were building this stronghold, my friends and I came across a large amount of pure Digizoid while we were digging. It seemed to be a waste to not use it, so I made King Drasil a body."

"Now I can fight alongside my Royal Knights like a true king should," King Drasil continued.

There was silence for several minutes as the Royal Knights continued to examine King Drasil's body. Finally, UlforceVeedramon swallowed loudly. "Well, umm, this is going to take some time to get used to," he spoke.

"While all of the Royal Knights are gathered here, I have a few announcements that I need to make," King Drasil said as he sat down in one of the remaining chairs at the table. Equistedramon continued to stand behind King Drasil. "First of all—."

The elevator doors opened with a _ding_ , and Shoutmon, along with Ballistamon, a machine Digimon that resembled a robotic red and blue Rhinoceros Beetle with round, yellow eyes, entered the hall, talking among themselves. They froze and became silent when they saw King Drasil, Equistedramon, and the Royal Knights staring at them.

"Hey, Shoutmon and Ballistamon," Equistedramon called, a bit of embarrassment audible in his voice. "I know that you guys must be hungry, but right now isn't really a good time. I'll bring you and the others some food after we're done here. Just go somewhere else for now, ok-?"

"It's alright," King Drasil interrupted, turning back to the Royal Knights in front of him. "As long as they do not interrupt our meeting, they can stay."

Shoutmon looked at Equistedramon, but when Equistedramon nodded his head, he and Ballistamon quietly made their way to a nearby cupboard and got down to eating at a table as far away from the Royal Knights as possible.

"Now, back to what I was saying," King Drasil continued when he had regained the Royal Knights attention, "Omnimon and I have been discussing something for a while now, and we have both agreed to skip tradition and accept Equistedramon into the Royal Knights without forcing him to do a mission."

There was a coughing noise, and some of the Royal Knights turned to look at Shoutmon, who had started to choke on his food as well. Equistedramon snapped his fingers again, and Shoutmon immediately stopped choking. King Drasil ignored this and went on. "Equistedramon has already proven himself over and over again to be worthy of being a Royal Knight, so it seems fair to go ahead and let him join us."

Equistedramon bowed his head. "Thank you for your generosity, King Drasil. I will do my best not to let any of you down."

"I hope that you will see to that," King Drasil growled. "Please do not show me that I have made a mistake breaking tradition for you to join us."

"According to Equistedramon, we have about a week before DarkEquistedramon reappears," Omnimon told his fellow Royal Knights, "so we do not have long to prepare for his return."

"But the way we are now, we can't hope to beat DarkEquistedramon," UlforceVeedramon said. "We just don't have the power. Equistedramon is the only one who is a match for DarkEquistedramon."

"That's where I'm going to help," Equistedramon interjected. Everyone turned to look at him. "For the next week, I am going to make you all strong enough to fight DarkEquistedramon on equal footing. But do not expect it to be easy; it is not for those who are weak at heart. It's going to drag you through hell and back," he added with a smile that would fit DarkEquistedramon to a T.

"We wouldn't be here if we thought being a Royal Knight would be easy," Gallantmon declared, bringing his fist down onto the table top.

"Gallantmon is right," Dynasmon added. "We were all told that there would be hard times to go through as Royal Knights, so this is no different than what we usually have to do."

"But there's a problem," Equistedramon sighed. "Knowing DarkEquistedramon as well as I do, when he comes back to fight us, he will have an extremely large and powerful army with him. If I had to guess, he has already dug his claws into the DragonForce Army." He looked over at Shoutmon, who was still eating. "That's where Shoutmon and his friends are going to help us."

"Huh?" Shoutmon perked up and looked at Equistedramon, his mouth completely full with Digibytes.

"I know I have no right to ask you this, Shoutmon," Equistedramon said as he walked over to him and Ballistamon, "but there's no one else to turn to for help. I should just send you and you friends back to where you came from, now that I finally fixed the Fusion Loader that you gave me when we first met." Equistedramon held something out to Shoutmon.

It was a small, rectangular, red device with a screen and a rotating dial with a circular button in the middle. There was also a button on each side of the screen. The top had a car grill-like design with a golden V in the middle.

"Can we really go back to our own dimension now?" Shoutmon asked as he took the Fusion Loader from Equistedramon.

"Yes," Equistedramon answered. He then turned to see the Royal Knights and King Drasil giving him a questionable stare. "I'm guessing that you're all wondering where Shoutmon and his friends actually came from. They came from a different dimension, where the Digital world is different from this one. There's different Digimon there, too, so that's why you never recognized Shoutmon and the others. They got separated from their leader while they were traveling through their Digital world while they were trapped inside the Fusion Loader and got stuck in this dimension, and the Fusion Loader broke. But now that I've finally managed to fix it, they can go back to their own dimension." Equistedramon looked back down at Shoutmon. "So what will it be, Shoutmon? Will you go back to where you came from, or will you stay and fight before that?"

"Why are you asking that, Equistedramon?" Shoutmon inquired as he looked up at his friend. "Of course we'll stay and fight with you! What kind of friends would we be if we walked out and turned our backs on you now?!" Shoutmon handed the Fusion Loader back to Equistedramon. "For the time being, you're our general now, Equistedramon!"

There was a sudden bright flash of white light from the Fusion Loader as Equistedramon held it. Slowly, the red Fusion Loader pixilated into a pure white Fusion Loader.

"Whoa!" Ballistamon cried, jumping to his feet. "What's going on?"

"It seems that the Fusion Loader understands the circumstances, too," Equistedramon observed as he examined it. "It looks like I'm the one who can use it, now!"

"Come on, Ballistamon!" Shoutmon called, racing towards the elevator. "We should go and tell the others!"

"Wait for me!" Ballistamon shouted, running after Shoutmon, barely making it inside the elevator before the doors closed. Equistedramon strolled back over to the table where King Drasil and his fellow Royal Knights sat and fell down in the last remaining chair, setting the white Fusion Loader down on the table in front of him. There was silence for a moment as everyone examined Equistedramon's new device.

"This is unexpected," spoke UlforceVeedramon, breaking the tense silence. "Who would have guessed that a Digimon would take ownership of a Digivice?"

Equistedramon looked sharply at UlforceVeedramon. "How did you know that the Fusion Loader is a type of Digivice?"

"When I was younger, long before I joined the Royal Knights, I used to have a human partner that used a Digivice," UlforceVeedramon admitted. "Some may question my dignity as to working with a human to save the world, but it was those experiences that helped me to become what I am today. Anyways, I thought Digivices only worked in the possession of humans. I don't understand why one of them would choose to work for a Digimon."

"Maybe it thinks that Equistedramon _is_ a human," Gallantmon said, deep in thought. "Remember, Equistedramon became part human after his experiences with Kurata. Maybe the Fusion Loader was tricked into believing that Equistedramon is completely human due to him already being part human."

"Maybe, but I don't really know if that's the true reason," Equistedramon commented, picking up the Fusion Loader and examining it closely. "This Fusion Loader already belonged to someone else before Shoutmon and the others came here. I still don't understand why it would want to change to a different owner."

There was another moment of silence as everyone tried to come up with an explanation for the Fusion Loader's sudden action. This silence was broken by King Drasil. "Whatever the reason may be for the Fusion Loader to do this, it is still good for us, now that Equistedramon has gain a new, powerful weapon," he said. "On top of that, we have an army of our own, now."

"But it still isn't enough," Equistedramon moaned. "From what I remembered about the DragonForce Army while I was away, they're a vast army with some of the most powerful Dragon Digimon around. And if I recall correctly, the Digimon that took over as Major General of the DragonForce Army in my place is an Imperialdramon in its Fighter Mode. Even I might have some difficulty dealing with him."

"Then maybe we should do something about the DragonForce Army before DarkEquistedramon returns," UlforceVeedramon suggested. "Equistedramon and I are both Dragon Digimon; maybe the two of us can infiltrate the army and weaken it from the inside out."

"That's a very risky move," King Drasil observed. "I cannot see how that plan would work."

"No, wait a moment," Equistedramon objected, thinking fast. "That plan might actually work. UlforceVeedramon and I will leave in the morning to go find the DragonForce Army Recruitment Center to get into the army. We'll then find Imperialdramon and take him down, and I can then reclaim my title as Major General. DarkEquistedramon is sure to go straight there once he regenerates, and by then I would have regained the respect of the army and have them turn on DarkEquistedramon."

"But what are we supposed to do while you and UlforceVeedramon are gone?" Craniamon questioned. "Who is supposed to train us if you are not around to do it?"

"That's a simple question: King Drasil will train you all," Equistedramon replied, smiling as the plan began to come together. "I can upload the training regime into King Drasil's suit, so he will know what to do while I'm gone. I can train UlforceVeedramon on my own as we're traveling."

"I think that more than two of us should leave for this mission," Dynasmon growled. "Maybe I should come with you as well, since I'm also a Dragon Digimon."

"No," Equistedramon replied, shaking his head. "The Army might get suspicious if several Mega-level Digimon, two of them the same kind of Digimon from the Royal Knights, came in at the same time to register for the Army. Anyways, we need as many of you here as possible while we are gone in case DarkEquistedramon comes to Dragonspiral Mountain first. But you're right; this mission is too dangerous for me and UlforceVeedramon to handle alone." Equistedramon held up his white Fusion Loader. "That's why we're going to use this."

Several of the Royal Knights became confused at that point. "Sorry, but you lost me, Equistedramon," Leopardmon said. "How is your Fusion Loader going to help you and UlforceVeedramon?"

"I can store Shoutmon and all of his friends in here," Equistedramon explained, "so there will be many more other than just UlforceVeedramon and I on this mission. In fact, I think that Shoutmon should try to register for the Army, too."

"Err, not to be rude, but Shoutmon is sort of small and weak for a job like this," Crusadermon put in.

Equistedramon smiled. "He'll be fine, once he Digivolves."

King Drasil twitched in surprise. "How do you plan on making Shoutmon Digivolve?" he inquired.

"He can use the Fusion Loader to do that," UlforceVeedramon said, catching onto Equistedramon's train of thought. "When I was partnered with my human, his Digivice was able to help me Digivolve into my current form."

"Is the Fusion Loader actually capable of that?" Dynasmon asked.

"Trust me, it is," Equistedramon assured him. He looked across the table at King Drasil. "What do you think about this plan, King Drasil?"

King Drasil sat quietly for a few minutes as he thought about it, resting his head on his hands. "I still think it's a risky idea," he replied slowly, "but right now, I cannot see any other option that could possible work out in our favor."

"Then it's decide," Omnimon spoke up, bringing his open hand down onto the table with a _slap_. "Equistedramon, UlforceVeedramon, and Shoutmon and his friends will leave for the DragonForce Army Recruitment Center first thing in the morning while the rest of us stay behind and train for the upcoming battle." Omnimon raised his hand in the air. "Let us declare war against DarkEquistedramon!"

The cheering could be heard on the levels above and below the dining hall as the Royal Knights began to prepare themselves for the long road ahead of them.

ΩΩΩ

Later that night, when the full moon was hanging directly in the middle of the starry sky, Equistedramon had King Drasil come to his private quarters to that he could upload the training regime into his suit of armor.

"This is where things are going to get interesting," Equistedramon told Dynasmon, who was watching the process, and King Drasil. He removed the shield from King Drasil's back and opened a panel in the back side of the armor. "Come here and see this, Dynasmon, because you're the one who's going to be keeping up with this while I'm gone."

"What am I looking at?" Dynasmon inquired as he joined Equistedramon and looked into the armor. A tangle of many wires of multiple colors had congested in this area to connect to a small metal box with several ports and dials on it.

"This is the system that allows King Drasil to move the suit at will," Equistedramon explained. He pulled his laptop out from inside his armor and connected it with a wire to the small metal box by plugging each end of the wire into a port in the metal box and the laptop.

King Drasil suddenly laughed. "Stop that, it tickles!" he demanded, his armor shaking with the force of his laughing.

"Tickles…?" Dynasmon looked at Equistedramon. "How is King Drasil able to have these feelings in a metal body?"

"I'll tell you another time," Equistedramon told him, typing quickly on his laptop. "Right now, your attention should be focused on me. The way that King Drasil is going to be training you is going to be unusual since he doesn't know what he's actually doing. I'm pre-programming his armor to start moving on its own to show you Royal Knights what you're going to be doing at set times. Each day is going to be different, so it's up to you, Dynasmon, to change the day setting every afternoon. If you don't, then you'll be doing the same training every day, and that's pointless, so every night, you'll need to pull this dial out here and turn it to the right one notch, then push the dial back in. That will set the program to the next day's training."

"What am I to do while my body is moving on its own?" King Drasil asked.

"Honestly, you don't even have to be in the suit of armor while it is going through the training," Equistedramon told his king. "But it would be better to stay in it so that your Royal Knights know when the day's training is over. It's kind of hard to train with a trainer who doesn't talk."

There was silence for a minute as Equistedramon continued to type. Finally, Equistedramon unplugged his laptop from King Drasil's armor and closed the panel. "That's that," he muttered, replacing the shield. "Remember, Dynasmon, it's up to you to keep up with each day's training."

"It seems to be simple enough," Dynasmon said as King Drasil got to his feet.

"Alright, shoo, the both of you!" Equistedramon ordered, waving them away. "I need to get prepared for tomorrow morning before I go to sleep!" Equistedramon literally pushed King Drasil and Dynasmon into the elevator. "See you at breakfast tomorrow morning!"

The door shut, and King Drasil and Dynasmon looked at each other. "That was unusual, even for Equistedramon," Dynasmon finally spoke.

"That was rude, that's what it was," King Drasil growled, his eyes pulsing. "Equistedramon's lucky that I didn't slap him upside along the head."

Dynasmon gave King Drasil a funny look. "What's that look for?" King Drasil demanded.

"It's the way you're talking," Dynasmon chuckled. "I think Equistedramon is starting to rub off on you."

"Is not!"

ΩΩΩ

King Drasil and all of the Royal Knights, except for Equistedramon, were already sitting in the dining hall at sunrise the next morning, waiting on Equistedramon to appear and unseal the cupboards.

"What is taking Equistedramon so long?" Magnamon growled, drumming his fingers against the table. "He said last night that he would be here by now! Some Digimon here like to have three meals a day!"

"Some Digimon here also need to cool off," Gallantmon told him. Magnamon muttered under his breath but complained no more.

"Here's Equistedramon right now," Omnimon announced as the elevator doors slid open, reveling Equistedramon and Shoutmon.

"Hold on, Equistedramon," UlforceVeedramon called as Equistedramon made his rounds around the cupboards, unsealing them. "Where are all of Shoutmon's friends? I thought they were coming with us."

"Oh, they're coming, alright," Equistedramon replied, finishing the last cupboard. "I fact, they are all in this room right now."

"Huh?" Almost all of the Royal Knights looked around the room, trying to see where the large group of Digimon were hiding.

"Well, were are they?" Craniamon questioned, checking behind an open door to an empty storage room.

Equistedramon pulled his white Fusion Loader out from inside his armor. "I told you last night, didn't I? They're all in here: Ballistamon, Dorulumon, Cutemon, Knightmon, the Pawnchessmon, Greymon, Mailbirdramon, Sparrowmon, the Starmons, and Beelzemon are all stored in here. That's one of the benefits of having a Fusion Loader; you can store as many Digimon as you want in here."

"Huh, that's completely different from the Digivice my human partner had," UlforceVeedramon commented as he walked over to examine the Fusion Loader. "The Digivice my partner had was only able to send out commands and collect data, and he could only have one Digimon partner for life. The Fusion Loader lets you have many partners, from the sound of it."

"I wouldn't exactly call Equistedramon my 'partner'," came a voice from the Fusion Loader, the screen lighting up as it spoke. "I would prefer the word 'ally'."

"Oh, come on, Greymon," Equistedramon groaned, holding the Fusion Loader close to his face. "I know this isn't what you would like to do, but you're here now, so you might as well make the best of it for now."

"It sounds like Greymon doesn't completely like you, Equistedramon," Crusadermon observed.

"Well, Greymon, Mailbirdramon, and Sparrowmon aren't originally part of Shoutmon's team," Equistedramon admitted. "They had different leaders, but they got involved in the traveling accident, well, by accident."

"Hey, not all of us have a problem with working with Shoutmon," said a different voice from the Fusion Loader. "It's just Greymon and Mailbirdramon; the rivalry between their Blue Flare team and Shoutmon's Fusion Fighters team just never ends, even in a different dimension."

"Watch it, Sparrowmon," Greymon's voice growled.

"Alright, alright, everyone calm down," Equistedramon ordered as he place the Fusion Loader back inside his armor. "Please don't make fools of yourselves in front of King Drasil and the Royal Knights."

"You're making it sound like you're not a Royal Knight," Sparrowmon's voice called.

Equistedramon took the Fusion Loader out again and stared at it. "I have to agree with Greymon: you better watch your mouth, Sparrowmon, or else you might not like what I'll do to you."

The sound of laughter came from the Fusion Loader as multiple Digimon inside began to laugh, including Sparrowmon. Equistedramon sighed and placed the Fusion Loader inside his armor again. "They know that I wasn't being serious," he sighed. "They know that I would never do anything to harm them."

"Umm, Equistedramon?" UlforceVeedramon called, standing close to the elevator now with Shoutmon. "We might want to get going if we're going to reach the DragonForce Army Recruitment Center before nightfall."

"Yes, you're right, we better get a move on."

"Hey, Equistedramon? Aren't you forgetting something?" Shoutmon asked.

"I know, I know," Equistedramon sighed. "But let's wait on Digivolving you until we actually get to the Recruitment Center. You can ride on my shoulder as we fly."

"I would prefer to fly on my own," Shoutmon mumbled, but he did not make any further comments.

"Well, we're off," UlforceVeedramon told King Drasil and the eight other Royal Knights as they stepped into the elevator.

"Good luck!" Omnimon called.

"We are counting on your safe return and your success in the mission," King Drasil added.

"Oh, yeah, that reminds me," Equistedramon said. "Today's training should be starting any minute now. I hope you all have fun being worked to the bone while we're gone!"

"Hey, what is that supposed to mean?" Dynasmon questioned as the elevator doors closed. He and Magnamon looked at each other, then at King Drasil.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Magnamon groaned as King Drasil started to vibrate.

ΩΩΩ

"Hey, do either of you smell that?" UlforceVeedramon inquired late in the afternoon two days after leaving Dragonspiral Mountain. The three Digimon had been flying non-stop since noon that day, and the forests below had turned into jungles and rain forests long ago.

The past two days have been a grueling experience for UlforceVeedramon and Shoutmon. They would stop traveling shortly before the sun would set, eat a light meal, and then train late into the night in the light of the stars and Equistedramon's fire. Equistedramon had been forcing them to train under his tutelage, and it has indeed been as harsh as Equistedramon had warned everyone back at the mountain. But Equistedramon was able to heal and rejuvenate the two of them whenever they neared collapsing-point. It was a never-ending cycle, and even though Equistedramon always took his time healing them, UlforceVeedramon's muscles still ached every night before retiring for the day. But the training was already starting to pay off. After only two days of training, both UlforceVeedramon and Shoutmon have realized their growth after showing abilities that they couldn't perform beforehand.

"Yeah, I definitely smell that, alright," Shoutmon complained, holding his nose. "But where have I smelled this before…?"

"It is sulfur," Equistedramon told them. "It's a gas that active, and sometimes dormant, volcanoes give off. That means we're close to the Recruitment Center."

"The Recruitment Center is inside a volcano?" UlforceVeedramon asked sharply.

"Yep," Equistedramon nodded. "They Army takes the dragon theme to heart. Look- there it is."

Shoutmon and UlforceVeedramon followed Equistedramon's claw and saw a tall, lone mountain in the distance, belching smoke from the open top. Even from this distance, they could see the forms of large Dragon Digimon flying in and out of the smoke.

"We are about five miles away from the Recruitment Center," Equistedramon called. "This is the closest that we can get without being found by a DragonForce Army Recruiter and forced to join the army."

"You mean they kidnap nearby Dragon Digimon and force them into the army?" Shoutmon questioned in disbelief. "Why did you let them do that while you were Major General?"

"Oh, no, I never approved of it," Equistedramon said quickly as they started to descend into the jungle. "But whenever we were about to have a large-scaled battle, some of the high-ranking Digimon below me would sneak out and find a strong Dragon Digimon or two to force into the army. I couldn't stop it because I never found out who did it."

They landed on the grassy jungle floor, and Equistedramon pulled out his Fusion Loader. "Alright, Shoutmon, let's get you Digivolved before we go and sign up. You have to be looking really strong to have a chance of getting through the recruitment process."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Shoutmon cried as he jumped off of Equistedramon's shoulder and onto the ground. "Are you saying that I don't look strong the way I am now?"

Equistedramon opened his mouth to say something, then suddenly stopped. "No one panic," he whispered, placing the Fusion Loader back inside his armor.

Without warning, a set of nets exploded out from the foliage and entangled the three Digimon. As the three struggled in their nets, several Digimon came out from hiding. There were three Dracomon: small, blue dragons with red horns and wings too small to fly with. They were the ones that had fired the nets, as they were holding the net launchers in their hands.

The other Digimon was a large, crimson-hued draconian with five fingers on each hand and four toes on each foot, similar to that of a bird. There were scar-like stripes close to his yellow eyes with thin, black pupils. His whole body was covered in scaly armor with black, red, and white spikes. His head also had three horns, two jutting above the eyes and a black one sprouting from the center of his snout. There were also two red flame symbols on his chest.

"Capture complete, Dorbickmon," one of the Dracomon stated. "We caught three Dragon Digimon."

"What information do we have on them?" Dorbickmon inquired.

"Sir, the large one with the blue and pink wings is an UlforceVeedramon," answered another Dracomon, holding a small, metal tube with a holographic screen projecting out of the side. Equistedramon and the others could see a backwards image of UlforceVeedramon along with information about him. "He's a strong Mega Digimon."

"That's a good catch," Dorbickmon observed. "What about the big purple one and the tiny red one?"

"Umm, we don't know," Dracomon replied. Equistedramon, UlforceVeedramon, and Shoutmon saw backwards images of Equistedramon and Shoutmon, but there was now information next to them.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Dorbickmon demanded. "Find the information, even if you have to hurt those two to get it!"

Suddenly, as Shoutmon and UlforceVeedramon were fighting against their nets, they both hear Equistedramon's voice in their heads at the same time. " _Hey, you two,_ " said the voice. " _I'm using telepathy to talk with you right now. Don't say anything out loud; just think it._ "

" _Equistedramon?_ " UlforceVeedramon thought. " _How are you doing this?_ "

" _There's no time to explain now. Listen: just let me do the talking and play along when you can. Otherwise, please just be quiet, alright? Okay, I'm breaking the connection now._ "

The whole conversation had taken less than a second by the time it had ended. With ease, Equistedramon stood up and broke free of the net that held him. "Are the four of you stupid or something?!" he shouted "Do you really think that it's just a coincidence to find three Dragon Digimon together so close to the Recruitment center? My friends and I were just on our way there right now! There's no point in dragging us there if we're willing to go in the first place!"

"Hey, you! Smart mouth!" Dorbickmon growled, pointing at Equistedramon. "What's your name?"

"My name is DracoKnightmon," Equistedramon told him as he broke the nets holding UlforceVeedramon and Shoutmon. "And these are my friends: Shoutmon and UlforceVeedramon. We were just on our way to sign up for the DragonForce Army when you so rudely interrupted us."

Dorbickmon hissed, his eyes flashing dangerously. "You better keep your tongue in check, DracoKnightmon," he spat. He continued to stare at Equistedramon intently. "Have I seen you from somewhere before?"

"I don't know, have you?" Equistedramon shot back. "I heard that Dorbickmon have bad memory, and it looks like you're a perfect example."

Dorbickmon hissed again, smoke flying out of his nostrils. "What do you know about me?"

"Oh, I know enough," Equistedramon replied. "Dorbickmon, the Dragon Man Digimon. Your appearance is similar to that of the Welsh dragon in the human world. The two flames symbols on your chest symbolize your mastery over fire, and you become stronger as you become more furious. You also happen to take pleasure in the sufferings of others. You also can't remember anything unimportant to you even if your life depended on it," he added.

"Umm, DracoKnightmon?" Shoutmon intervened as the smoke pouring from Dorbickmon's nostrils became thicker. "Let's not make the big, strong dragon angry before we even sign up for the Army, okay?"

"Oh, all three of you are already in, all right," Dorbickmon growled, showing his teeth in an evil smile. "Knock them out, boys!"

There was a rustling behind Equistedramon, and he whirled around to see a pair of Devidramon slap UlforceVeedramon and Shoutmon in the back of their necks with their tails, knocking Equistedramon's two companions out cold. A third Devidramon was rushing at him, and he grabbed it by the head, swung it back over his head, then threw it forwards into a tree. The tree snapped from the force and fell on top of the Devidramon.

But before Equistedramon could move to help his friends, he felt a hot breath on the back of his neck and realized that he had left himself wide open for an attack from behind.

"I'll have a nice surprise for you when you wake up, DracoKnightmon," Dorbickmon whispered as he karate chopped Equistedramon in the back of his neck with enough force to knock Equistedramon out.

ΩΩΩ

When Equistedramon to, the first thing he noticed was the he was hot. Extremely hot. Even with his eyes closed, he could see a dull, red glow through his eyelids.

After Equistedramon opened his eyes, he learned several more things about his surroundings. He was lying on a metal grating that was hanging above a pool of boiling hot lava. There were no walls or barriers at the edge, and he was too close for comfort to falling into the lava. As he got up, he heard the sounds of chains clinking, and he realized that his ankles were shackled on a short length to the metal grating, and he could tell from the purple texture that they were made from pure Chrome Digizoid. At first, he wasn't worried, but he then detected a certain smell other than those coming from the lava, and his heart sank like a stone. It was the scent of the Weeping Dragon's flower pollen, the one thing that Dragon Digimon are weak to. Equistedramon could see the blue pollen mixed into the Chrome Digizoid chains as he examined them closer. There was not going to be any breaking of the chains with ease this time; Dorbickmon had been making sure of that.

"DracoKnightmon!" someone nearby shouted. Equistedramon turned to see UlforceVeedramon shackled to a metal grating directly to his left.

"Your finally awake, DracoKnightmon!" another voice called. Equistedramon turned to see Shoutmon also chained to a metal grating to his right.

 _Good._ Equistedramon thought. _At least they remember to call me DracoKnightmon. It would have been bad if my cover had been blown._

"It would appear that all three of our new finds have finally woken up," a voice echoed across the lava. Equistedramon looked up to see Dorbickmon sitting on a rock directly in front of him. The three friends were inside the crater of the volcano, surrounded on all sides by stone covered with a multitude of Dragon Digimon. The only sound was that of the chains moving and the wind howling around the volcano as it lit up the night sky with the dull glow of lava.

Dorbickmon spread his arms out wide to the dragons that filled the crater top. "Earlier today, we found these three dragons close by. According to them, they were already on their way to sign up for the DragonForce Army when we captured them, but thanks to the big mouth one of them has, they're going to register the hard way: fighting an opponent to the death!"

As the dragons began to cheer and boo, Equistedramon made telepathic contact with his friends. " _I'm sorry, you two,_ " he called out with his mind. " _This isn't anything like how we recruited new members back when I was in charge. I didn't think that it would end out like this._ "

" _Hey, who ever said it was going to be easy?_ " Shoutmon told him.

" _That's right,_ " UlforceVeedramon thought. " _You couldn't have known how much things have changed here since you retired. It's not your fault._ "

" _No, it is my fault,_ " Equistedramon replied firmly, " _and I'm going to make things right again._ " He broke the connection with Shoutmon and UlforceVeedramon.

"So what do you want us to do, Dorbickmon?" he called out. "Do you want us to fight the smoke to the death? I guess we could blow it away if we try hard enough."

"In case none of you could tell, that one in the middle is the smart mouth," Dorbickmon told his dragons. A few more boos were heard, and someone shouted, "That's not how you talk to the Lieutenant General of the DragonForce Army!"

"Lieutenant General?" Shoutmon repeated, looking up at Dorbickmon.

Dorbickmon smiled wickedly. "Yes, I am the Lieutenant General of the DragonForce Army, the second in command. That was the rank I was given when I first signed up due to my apparent abilities."

"What abilities?" Equistedramon snapped. "I can't see any, other than the ability to be incredibly annoying!"

A few dragons whistled while the others stayed silent, shocked by the strange dragon's attitude to their second in command.

Dorbickmon's wicked smile grew wider. "We are given our rankings when we first sign up due to how well we fight. The less amount of time and damage you take to win against a set opponent, the higher the ranking you receive. The ranking go from the ordinary foot soldier to the Lieutenant General. I'm the only Lieutenant General right now, even though there are supposed to be two of them, because nobody else has been able to defeat their opponent as quickly and easily as me."

"What are the requirements to become Lieutenant General?" Equistedramon questioned.

"Usually, you would have to beat a Paildramon or another Ultimate level Dragon Digimon in ten seconds without taking any damage," Dorbickmon responded, "but since you and your friends seem to be confident on yourselves, you will each be going up against a different Mega level Digimon! Come on out, you three!" he called.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, three large figures flew over the edge of the crater and each landing on one of the three metal grates, almost knocking Equistedramon and the others over the edge with the shaking.

Equistedramon's opponent was a ShineGreymon, a Digimon with red, white, and gold armor covering its whole body. The legs were white with red stripe patterns on them, and a white horn stuck out of each knee. Its ankles were covered in gold armor, and each foot had three gold toes. The tail was very similar in design to the legs, and it was tipped off with a gold ring with silver spikes on the outside. Its torso and shoulders were covered in red armor with silver trimmings, and silver spikes sprouted from the shoulders. In the middle of its chest was a light blue ball that shone with the color of a bright, sunny sky. It wings were made of several red metal joints with a blue crystal set where the joints met. The forearms were gold with red stripes, and its white hands were backed with red pads with three gold spikes. Its mouth was covered, and three white horns sprung from its red and gold head.

Shoutmon was facing off against an Imperialdramon in its Dragon Mode. It had huge, velvety red wings, and its blue body was covered in back and gold armor. Its front legs had longer, golden claws than the back legs, and there was a long, golden spike on each of the front knees. Its solid yellow eyes glow underneath a red shell, on top of which was a white piece of hardened skin, just like the red piece of armor underneath it, with three large horns, and behind this was a mess of spikey, white hair. There was a black and gold laser attached to his back, and his exposed blue tail was whipping back and forth.

UlforceVeedramon was, oddly enough, facing off against another UlforceVeedramon, and the two of them were staring at each other with a burning intensity, not moving a muscle.

"The fight will, as I said, be to the death!" Dorbickmon announced. "You will be timed to normal standards and judged the same way as well. Begin!"

 _I better go all out, just to make Dorbickmon shut up._ Equistedramon thought. Mentally removing the seal he had placed on his power, he kicked out with both feet, shattering the chains that were binding him.

Before anyone could react, Equistedramon disappeared, and everyone suddenly realized that ShineGreymon was lying down on the metal grating with Equistedramon on top of him, his lance pressed tightly against ShineGreymon's exposed throat.

"You're not even worth the effort of killing," Equistedramon growled loud enough for everyone in the crater to hear. "Just get out of my sight!" Equistedramon grabbed ShineGreymon by the tail ring and started to swing his opponent around in the air. He released him, and ShineGreymon flew over the edge of the crater. The sound of rocks falling was heard as ShineGreymon rolled down the side of the volcano.

Everyone was staring at Equistedramon, too shocked to speak, including UlforceVeedramon's opponent. As his opponent continued to stare at Equistedramon, UlforceVeedramon rushed him and put the Army's UlforceVeedramon in a deadlock from behind.

"You should never take your eyes off of your opponent!" UlforceVeedramon shouted as he tightened his grip. There were two loud _cracks_ , and the trapped UlforceVeedramon cried out in pain. His wings had been broken. UlforceVeedramon lifted his opponent over his head and walked over to the edge of the metal grating.

"Sorry about this, but at least you'll be coming back as a Digi-Egg," UlforceVeedramon told his foe as he threw him over the edge. There was a loud screeching for a moment as the UlforceVeedramon fell, unable to save himself due to his broken wings. He hit the lava and dissipated into many golden specks of light.

The Imperialdramon that was facing off with Shoutmon shook his head and glared at Shoutmon. "I won't lose so easily," he hissed, stepping forwards.

" _Fiery Fastball!_ " Shoutmon cried, and a ball of fire in the shape of a music note appeared in his hand. He threw it at Imperialdramon, but Imperialdramon whipped his tail out and knocked the ball of fire away.

"I don't have enough power, DracoKnightmon!" Shoutmon yelled, turning to look at Equistedramon. "I could use some help here!"

"That goes against the rules," Dorbickmon finally managed to speak for the first time since the fighting had started. He leaned back against the warm volcanic rock and smiled. "DracoKnightmon cannot help you. You have to fight on your own!"

"Fine, then I won't help Shoutmon," Equistedramon said. "You know what you have to do, Shoutmon! It's time to Digivolve!"

"Right!" Shoutmon responded, nodding his head.

Inside Equistedramon's armor, the screen on his Fusion Loader lit up, and a gold omega symbol appeared on the screen. A golden light surrounded Shoutmon and became brighter and brighter until nobody could look at him. When the light faded, everyone saw that Shoutmon had changed.

Shoutmon had become much taller and was completely covered in what appeared to be Gold Digizoid armor, but it was actually Omega inForce. The crest on his forehead had also grow much larger.

"Go for it, OmniShoutmon!" Equistedramon shouted. "Take him out in one shot!"

"I'm way ahead of you, Equistedramon!" OmniShoutmon called back. He leapt into the air and pressed his legs together, which then began to rotate at a high rate of speed, breaking the chains holding him in the process. " _Doom Drillpress!_ "

Before Imperialdramon could move, OmniShoutmon had hit him in the middle of his back and gone straight through his body and even went through the metal grating before stopping and flying back up into the air as Imperialdramon dissipated into the air. He flew over to UlforceVeedramon's metal grating and broke the chains that were holding UlforceVeedramon down as well. The two of them then flew over to stand beside Equistedramon. All three of them stared up at Dorbickmon expectantly, who was staring back at them in absolute shock.

There was silence for several minutes, and then a voice from nowhere spoke up. "DracoKnightmon defeated Mega-level ShineGreymon within five seconds with no damage," it announced. "Considering the change in the rules by Dorbickmon, his position will be First Lieutenant General, the highest position that can be given at the start of a DragonForce Army member's career, directly under Imperialdramon and directly above the now Second Lieutenant General, Dorbickmon, who defeated the Ultimate-level Paildramon in five seconds with no damage. UlforceVeedramon and OmniShoutmon both defeated their Mega-level opponents within thirty seconds with no damage. Considering the change in the rules by Dorbickmon, their positions are General, directly under the now Second Lieutenant General Dorbickmon."

"What?!" Dorbickmon screamed. "You mean that those two bastards and that pipsqueak that Digivolved did that well?!"

"Maybe you're the one who is overconfident, Dorbickmon!" Equistedramon called out.

"I will not accept this!" Dorbickmon screeched, bringing his fist down on a rock, crushing it. "I say that they fight again for a true analyses of their powers! There is now way that they could have done so well!"

"They will not fight again, and you will accept them, Dorbickmon!" a different voice called out from above them. "You have no reason to force them to fight again! They fought fair and square!"

Everyone looked up to see a large Digimon floating in the air directly above Equistedramon, UlforceVeedramon, and OmniShoutmon. It looked like the Imperialdramon that OmniShoutmon had just defeated, but something was different about it. It had a more humanoid form that the Imperialdramon from earlier, and stood on its two back legs. The Positron Laser what was located one the Imperialdramon Dragon Mode's back was now positioned on his left arm, the gold ring on the end still engraved with Digicode. Also, colors were different. It wings were white, and its black and gold armor had become white and gold. In addition, there was a long, white sword attached to his back with Digicode, different from the Digicode on his Positron Laser, written down the length of the blade. The guard had a yellow spike on each side with the combined Crest of Courage and Friendship, the same as the one on Omnimon's chest and Equistedramon shield while in Royal Knight Mode, set at the base of the blade.

"And who might you be?" OmniShoutmon inquired. He then immediately got slapped in the back of the head by Equistedramon.

"Are you an idiot?!" Equistedramon whispered urgently. "That's an Imperialdramon in its Paladin Mode; he's one of the strongest Digimon in the world, if not the strongest!"

"Yes, DracoKnightmon is right," Imperialdramon told them, landing on the metal grating in front of them. "I am an Imperialdramon in its Paladin Mode, which is only achieved by loading the data of an Omnimon into an Imperialdramon Fighter Mode's body. I have become an Ancient Dragon Man and an Ancient Holy Knight Digimon." Imperialdramon gazed at the three of them and stared at Equistedramon. "Have I seen you from somewhere before?"

"Dorbickmon asked me the same thing before he knocked us out and dragged us here," Equistedramon said, glaring at Dorbickmon as he spoke.

"Yes, well, please excuse Dorbickmon's behavior on my behalf," Imperialdramon commented. "He just does not like to be bested."

"Oh, we know that already," UlforceVeedramon growled.

Imperialdramon approached Equistedramon and placed a hand on his shoulder. "After seeing the way you completely overpowered ShineGreymon, and then continued to let him live, I am looking forward to working with you, DracoKnightmon. I hope you're prepared to get to work immediately, because, as you've probably noticed due to Dorbickmon's behavior, we're getting ready for a war."

Equistedramon frowned, thinking hard. _He's certainly a good actor._ UlforceVeedramon thought to himself. _He's playing stupid so well even though he knows who their going to be fighting the Royal Knights._

"Who would we be fighting?" Equistedramon asked. "I cannot think of any group that's been making enough trouble to war with now."

Imperialdramon nodded. "That's true, but we have just recently received word from our Supreme Commander, DarkEquistedramon. He's been spying on the Royal Knights lately and heard that their planning to gain absolute control over the entire Digital world. They're going to wipe out all of the strongest armies to begin with, and the DragonForce Army is on the top of the list."

ΩΩΩ

At that moment, Equistedramon made mental contact with UlforceVeedramon and OmniShoutmon. " _DarkEquistedramon is already back!_ " he mentally shouted. " _Whatever you do, do not say that we're part of the Royal Knights, or else none of us will ever leave here!_ "

" _Isn't that obvious?_ " OmniShoutmon shot at him. " _We're not stupid; we know what to keep quiet about!_ "

" _I cannot believe that DarkEquistedramon is in total control here!_ " UlforceVeedramon cried mentally. " _And I also can believe that the DragonForce Army believes what DarkEquistedramon told them about the Royal Knights! Our reputation should speak for itself! I can't believe that they would believe that lie so easily!_ "

Equistedramon broke the connection. "It's hard to believe that the Royal Knights would do something like that," he told Imperialdramon slowly.

Imperialdramon was staring intently at Equistedramon again. He suddenly snapped his fingers. "That's where I think I've see you before!" he said. "You looked exactly like our Supreme Commander, DarkEquistedramon!"

" _Uh-oh,_ " Equistedramon, UlforceVeedramon, and OmniShoutmon thought at the same time as all of the dragons in the crater, including Dorbickmon, stared at Equistedramon, the realization settling in.

"Are you DarkEquistedramon's brother or something of the sort?" Imperialdramon questioned.

"Brother?" OmniShoutmon echoed, turning to stare at Equistedramon, too. UlforceVeedramon stared at him, too.

"Sorry, but I've never heard of DarkEquistedramon before," Equistedramon lied. "In fact, I wouldn't even know if he could be my brother or not since I lost my memories five years ago."

"You're suffering from amnesia?" Imperialdramon asked. "Well, DarkEquistedramon is supposed to arrive in three days, so maybe you would remember something if you saw him. You two look too much alike to be a coincidence."

"I guess it's worth a try," Equistedramon shrugged. He gave Dorbickmon a pointed stare. "As long as he doesn't come along."

"Alright, that's enough out of you two," Imperialdramon ordered as Dorbickmon began to sputter and hiss in anger. "Dorbickmon, OmniShoutmon, UlforceVeedramon, and DracoKnightmon, come with me. We're heading off to the DragonForce Army's Headquarters."

"Yes, sir," they all replied, and the five Dragon Digimon took to the sky. The dragons who were still sitting cheered and waved after them.

Dorbickmon approached Equistedramon in midair and bumped into him. "Don't think that I'll listen to you so easily," he growled. "You have a long road ahead of you before you gain my respect."

"Oh, don't worry about that," Equistedramon hissed, bumping Dorbickmon harder than he had him. "I don't think I need your respect. You have to listen to me, anyways, since I'm your superior."

"Are you two able _not_ to fight with each other?" UlforceVeedramon questioned, coming up from behind and slapping both of them in the back of the head. "You two need to get along as Lieutenant Generals."

"I'm not going to get along with him!" Dorbickmon and Equistedramon shouted at the same time.

ΩΩΩ

The five dragons flew throughout the night, traveling mile after mile over the jungle, which eventually turned back into forests.

"There it is," Imperialdramon finally said, pointed at another volcano in the distance as the sun began to rise. Unlike the volcano from the night before, this one wasn't belching smoke and sulfur. "The DragonForce Army Headquarter fills that whole volcano."

"But what about the lava?" OmniShoutmon asked. He had begun to complain about being tired around midnight, and his eyes were now half close. If he didn't get any sleep soon, he was going to collapse.

"Don't you have eyeballs in that head or yours?" Dorbickmon snapped.

"Cool it, Dorbickmon," Equistedramon spat. "You can't blame OmniShoutmon for being tired. He's newly Digivolved; he used a lot of his energy in the process. Anyways, OmniShoutmon, lava isn't a problem here. Have you noticed that you cannot smell any sulfur here? This is obviously an extinct volcano; there's not going to be any lava."

"Very observant, DracoKnightmon," Imperialdramon commented. "That's what I should expect from my First Lieutenant General."

Dorbickmon glared at Equistedramon, who made a face at Dorbickmon from underneath his helmet in return. Fortunately, Imperialdramon didn't notice.

"Are we going to be flying straight down the crater?" UlforceVeedramon asked.

"Nope, we're not," Imperialdramon responded. He pointed at the base of the volcano, where there was a large cave carved into the volcanic rock wall. "That is where we will be entering the volcano."

"Hey, Dorbickmon, make sure you don't miss the entrance," Equistedramon growled. "It would be bad if you hit the rocks head-on, but it wouldn't have made much of a difference to your face. It might even make you look better."

"Oh, yeah, real funny, DracoKnightmon," Dorbickmon hissed. "If you were any funnier, somebody might be stupid enough to laugh!"

"Will you two cut it out?" Imperialdramon ordered as the five of them descended to the ground. Dorbickmon and Equistedramon were trying to throw each other onto the ground, and the two of them fell out of the sky and landed hard on the ground. The force of the impact broke the two rivals apart and they laid on their backs, too stunned to move.

"That's what happens when you get too distracted while flying," OmniShoutmon said as he, Imperialdramon, and UlforceVeedramon landed next to Dorbickmon and Equistedramon.

"If you two cannot get your act together, then you will both be cleaning the bathrooms for a whole week," Imperialdramon growled. "You two fight more than bitter rivals would."

"Yes, sir," Equistedramon and Dorbickmon mumbled, slowly getting to their feet.

The Major General, the two Lieutenant Generals, and the two Generals entered the cave and made their way deep into the volcano. The tunnels were lined with torches, casting a flickering light over everything. Smaller tunnels branched off the larger one that they were walking through, but they never left the main tunnel.

"This sort of reminds me of your home, DracoKnightmon," OmniShoutmon whispered, his voice echoing up and down the tunnel.

"What's your home like, DracoKnightmon?" Imperialdramon inquired without turning around from the front of the group.

"Well, my home is inside a mountain," Equistedramon replied, his voice ghost-like from the combined echoing from the tunnel and his helmet. "I hollowed out most of the mountain to make it as a stronghold from many different Digimon." He thought about it for a moment, and then added, "Now that I think about it, it's close to where the Server Tree used to be where the Royal Knights had their headquarters."

"Used to be?" Dorbickmon echoed. "What happened to the Server Tree?"

"An explosion occurred there a few days ago and completely destroyed the Tree," UlforceVeedramon explained. "OmniShoutmon and I were with DracoKnightmon when it happened. We don't know where the Royal Knights are now."

"I don't think that the Royal Knights would actually go very far from their original base of operations," Imperialdramon thought out loud. "They might still be in the area. I think, after we finish preparing things here, maybe we can make temporary Headquarter at you home, DracoKnightmon, if it's okay with you, of course."

"I'll think about it," Equistedramon answered slowly.

" _Oh, no,_ " UlforceVeedramon thought. " _If that happens, our cover will be blown on the spot, once they find out that the Royal Knights are stationed at Equistedramon's home._ "

"Here we are," Imperialdramon announced, stopping in front of a set of large, iron-bound wooden doors. There were two ShineGreymon standing guard on either side, but they immediately opened the door to Imperialdramon, and the five of them slowly filed into the room.

As the doors closed behind Dorbickmon, who was the last one to enter the room, there was a whistling sound as something flew through the air. Equistedramon suddenly appeared in front of Dorbickmon, blocking Dorbickmon's view of what was happening. There was a loud _clang_ of metal hitting metal, and then the sound of flesh ripping. Equistedramon cried out in pain as a dark, red liquid splattered all over the floor and started to run down his arms.

"DracoKnightmon! What's wrong with you?!" Dorbickmon cried, stepping out from behind Equistedramon and looking at him. And then he froze.

Equistedramon was standing still with his arms crossing over one another in front of his chest in a protective position, but that hadn't done much to protect him. An oversized black lance with hints of blood red coloring on the tip had cut straight through the gauntlets on his forearms, cutting his wrists. The lance had gone directly through his chest plate, stabbing deep into Equistedramon's chest. The blood was pouring down his body and dripping off of his wrists, and, as everyone was staring in shock, Equistedramon collapsed to the ground. The black lance came loose and laid by Equistedramon's side, the tip soaked in blood.

"DracoKnightmon!" OmniShoutmon and UlforceVeedramon cried, rushing to stand by Equistedramon and helped him to his feet.

Imperialdramon leaned over and touched the floor, and his fingers came back up red and bloody. "What is the meaning of this?!" he shouted, showing his hand to UlforceVeedramon, OmniShoutmon, and Equistedramon. "Is this blood?!"

Dorbickmon was too shocked to move or to even speak.

"Are you all right, DracoKnightmon?" UlforceVeedramon yelped.

"He's not alright, obviously!" OmniShoutmon snapped. "He's losing too much blood! He could actually die!"

"I'll be fine," Equistedramon muttered softly, shaking off UlforceVeedramon and OmniShoutmon. He staggered over to the door and opened it, still pouring blood. "Just give me a minute, and I'll be right back," he wheezed as he closed the door behind him. There were a couple of shouts from the ShineGreymon guards, and then there was silence.

"You two!" Imperialdramon ordered, pointing at OmniShoutmon and UlforceVeedramon. "You seem to know DracoKnightmon well. Can you explain the meaning of this blood to me?"

OmniShoutmon and UlforceVeedramon glanced at each other, and UlforceVeedramon sighed. "Well, about five years ago, DracoKnightmon was captured and experimented on by that human Kurata that caused the Human and Digital worlds so much trouble," he stated. "DracoKnightmon was the first subject for experiments for creating Digimon-human hybrids. He became part human as a result, and, unlike every other Digimon, he had blood instead of digital energy."

"He was captured by Kurata?" Dorbickmon finally managed to speak.

"Yes," OmniShoutmon nodded, "and he lost his memories in the process of the experiments. He managed to escape, though, and returned to the Digital world."

"By the way, who threw that lance?" UlforceVeedramon wondered out loud. The four Digimon turned to look around, but when OmniShoutmon and UlforceVeedramon saw who was in the room, they froze in terror.

They were in a large room with pillars located everywhere, holding up the ceiling. The flickering light came from torches that hung from the pillars and a long line of fire that spread from wall to wall in at the back of the room. The chamber was void of furniture except for the long, black stone table in the center of the room. There was a chair at each end, and three chairs on each side. Two of the chairs on each side, the one on the far right and the one at the near left, were occupied; one of them by a Dynasmon, and the other by a BurningGreymon.

BurningGreymon was a Dark Dragon Digimon with two silver toes on the front of his feet and one on the back. His ankles were covered in silver and red armor with gold trimmings. The legs was covered in red and silver armor with gold trimmings, and the kneecaps were covered in gold bracers, and the thighs had a gold pattern on them. The tail was covered in segments of red and gold armor. The chest piece was red and gold with a gold slating down the middle of his chest. He had a pair of large, orange wings, and on each arm was a red, gun-like weapon with a gold cover. He had three claws on each hand, and his head was white with three, small horns and red stripes. He had blue eyes, and the skin that wasn't covered in a black, body-suit like material was yellow.

But at the end of the table was a Digimon that none of the Digimon who had just enter the chamber was expecting.

It was DarkEquistedramon.

ΩΩΩ

"DarkEquistedramon!" Imperialdramon called, raising a hand in greeting. "We weren't expecting you for three days from now!"

DarkEquistedramon ignored Imperialdramon. All of his attention was on Dorbickmon, who was staring back, unable to move or to break his gaze.

"I heard late last night that you had been bested and knocked down a position," DarkEquistedramon growled, "even after making things much more difficult than usual for the new recruits, so I hurried to finish my training so that I could catch you and punish you for failing, only for the new recruit to protect you and take the blow for you!"

"Sorry, but I don't let anyone hurt my subordinates unless they want to be in pain as well," came a voice from behind Dorbickmon, UlforceVeedramon, OmniShoutmon, and Imperialdramon. The four of them spun around to see Equistedramon leaning against the wall next to the door. There was no sign that he had been cut or stabbed, and his armor was whole again.

"DracoKnightmon!" Dorbickmon cried. "Are you already healed?"

"It took longer to heal than it normally should have," Equistedramon muttered, "since DarkEquistedramon's lance cut multiple tendons in my arms, and the lance had also gone straight through my chest and out my back, but I'm fine now."

"You can't be fine already!" Imperialdramon yelped. "Don't you know how much blood you lost?"

"Do you see any blood?" Equistedramon asked quietly. The dragons looked down and realized that all traces of the blood had disappeared, including from Imperialdramon's hand.

"So you're the one who showed Dorbickmon up," DarkEquistedramon hissed. "You go by the name of DracoKnightmon, correct? You shouldn't meddle with how I deal with failures, unless you want to be deleted."

Equistedramon smiled underneath his helmet. "Let's stop playing this game, DarkEquistedramon," Equistedramon told him.

"Agreed," DarkEquistedramon spat, rising to his feet. "Let's end this charade, Equistedramon."

"Wait, hold on a moment!" Imperialdramon cried as Equistedramon picked up DarkEquistedramon's lance and tossed it into the air. DarkEquistedramon caught it, and the two Dragon Knight Digimon made their way to one another. "What's going on here, DarkEquistedramon? And why did you call DracoKnightmon Equistedramon? Do you two know each other?"

"Oh, we know each other, all right," Equistedramon growled. "We should, since DarkEquistedramon and I are the same being."

"I'm not following this at all!" Dorbickmon shouted. "Who are you, DracoKnightmon?"

Equistedramon and DarkEquistedramon both stopped moving. "My real name is Equistedramon," he responded, "and I am a new member of the Royal Knights. I am also the Founder and former Major General of the DragonForce Army. DarkEquistedramon and I are mortal enemies and the same being at the same time. Sorry for lying to you and Imperialdramon."

"Is this true, DarkEquistedramon?" Dorbickmon questioned.

"Do you even need to ask?" DarkEquistedramon snapped. "Look at the two of us; we're virtually the same! Of course Equistedramon and I are the same being!"

"Yes, and this time, I will be rid of you for good, DarkEquistedramon!" Equistedramon cried. He held out his hand, and his lance suddenly appeared in it. Equistedramon charged at DarkEquistedramon, and the two met head to head, sparks flying off their lances.

"How in the world did you become the Supreme Commander of my Army?" Equistedramon hissed. "I thought I had you sealed in a different dimension from this!"

"You did, until you lost your memories," DarkEquistedramon growled, leaning forward until his helmet was an inch from Equistedramon's. "When you lost your memories, the barrier holding me back in that different dimension was significantly weakened, and I was able to break through. I had already decided that I would take control of your army before I broke out, and I beat the Imperialdramon that had taken over for you with ease, but I let him live. I established myself a rank higher than his and gained control over the DragonForce Army a little less than five years ago!

"Damn you, DarkEquistedramon!" Equistedramon swore as the two of them each leapt back and put some distance between them. "Why do you always have to ruin and infect everything I work so hard for? And now you're going after the Royal Knights just out of spite of me! Why can't you ever just leave me and my friends alone?!"

"Because I can't call myself the world's strongest Digimon with you around!" DarkEquistedramon answered.

"You go to hell!" Equistedramon shouted, snapping his lance in two. There was a flash of golden light, and when it faded, it reveled Equistedramon in his Royal Knight Mode.

"So you think that, just because you can change Modes, you can beat me?!" DarkEquistedramon yelled. "What do you think I've been up to since we last met?" DarkEquistedramon held up his lance and broke it in half as well. He was suddenly enveloped in an orb of dark purple light, and when it had dispersed, it reveled DarkEquistedramon with a different appearance.

He wore a ragged black cape that hung from his neck, and in his right hand, he held a large purple claymore with a bronze guard and handle, black leather grip, and bronze plating down the middle of the blade. In DarkEquistedramon left hand, he held a purple kite shield with bronze trimmings, and there was a black skull-and-crossbones symbol emblazoned in the middle.

"You're not the only one who can change Modes now!" DarkEquistedramon announced. "This is what I was training for in the short time that I was gone. This is my Chaos Emperor Mode!"

"Let's see if it will do you any good!" Equistedramon yelled, raising his claymore straight up in the air above his head.

"Indeed!" DarkEquistedramon called back, mimicking Equistedramon's movement.

" _Dragon Energy Slash!_ " they both shouted, swinging their swords down at the same time. A white arc of light with gold edges flew out of Equistedramon's sword, and a black arc of light with red edges came out of DarkEquistedramon's sword.

"Everyone, get moving!" Imperialdramon yelled, turning his back towards the fighters and running towards the door. OmniShoutmon, UlforceVeedramon, and Dorbickmon were hot on his tail.

The Dynasmon and BurningGreymon that were sitting at the table jumped to their feet and tried to follow Imperialdramon's example, but they were too late and too slow. The two energy attacks hit each other in midair and exploded.

ΩΩΩ

The shockwave from the explosion pushed up against Imperialdramon's, OmniShoutmon's, UlforceVeedramon's, and Dorbickmon's backs and swept them off their feet. The shockwave continued to carry the four dragons all the way down the tunnel, blowing out the torches as it continued to move. The Digimon were pushed right outside before the shockwave expanded and weakened enough for them to fall on the ground. That's when the noise of the explosion occurred.

UlforceVeedramon only heard the ear-splitting noise for a split second before it was cut off. He looked over at OmniShoutmon, who was on the ground next to him. "What's going on?" he asked, then realized he couldn't hear himself. OmniShoutmon's mouth moved, but UlforceVeedramon didn't hear a thing. He put a hand to his ear and it came away covered in a clear fluid; it was his digital energy leaking out of him. The explosion had destroyed his ears. He looked around and saw that everyone's ears were leaking digital energy. There was no way for them to communicate with each other.

UlforceVeedramon turned around to see that they had landed several hundred feet from the base of the volcano. He didn't even remember traveling that far from it.

The volcano was a site of total chaos and destruction. Much of it had shattered into pieces of volcanic rock, ranging from the size of dust to boulders the size of UlforceVeedramon himself, and was falling around them like hail. The top of the volcano, where the rock was thinner, had completely disappeared; the shockwave had easily demolished the thinner rock into dust as it had traveled up and out of the top of the crater. There was no sign of the two ShineGreymon guards, Dynasmon, or BurningGreymon.

Suddenly, UlforceVeedramon's ears popped, and he could hear again. There was a rumbling sound from the explosion that was echoing repeatedly.

"Oww!" Dorbickmon and OmniShoutmon cried, putting their hands to their ears.

"What just happened?" Imperialdramon questioned, his hands on his ears, as well.

"I think our Headquarters just got destroyed," Dorbickmon mumbled.

"Look up there!" OmniShoutmon yelled, pointing above the ruined volcano. Everyone looked up and saw two figures floating in the air facing each other. As the dust and smoke cleared away, they saw that it was Equistedramon and DarkEquistedramon.

"It looks like you've gained as much power as I did when I was revived," they heard Equistedramon comment. "Tell me, who did you meet in the afterlife that unlocked your Chaos Emperor Mode?"

DarkEquistedramon laughed, but there was no humor in that laughter of his. "Do you really want to know?" he called out, looking at his other half straight in the eye. "Fine, I'll tell you. The Digimon that unlocked my Chaos Emperor Mode in the afterlife was none other than a black Omnimon!"

"A black Omnimon?" Dorbickmon echoed, sounding thoroughly confused. He looked at Imperialdramon. "What's so special about a black Omnimon?"

"A black Omnimon is an Omnimon that forms when it absorbs the data from an extremely large amount of Virus Digimon," Imperialdramon explained. "Since Omnimon are considered to be Holy Knight Digimon, they usually hold themselves to a high standard of avoiding virus data as much as possible, to keep themselves untainted. One could say that a black Omnimon is a Fallen Holy Knight."

"I see," Equistedramon's voice floated down to the four Dragon Digimon on the ground. "That explains why our appearances are still very similar after our Mode changes. The extra data we both received to unlock this power both came from some source of Holy Data, except that yours is infected."

"I don't give a damn if we both have Holy Data!" DarkEquistedramon shrieked, suddenly flying towards Equistedramon, his sword in front of him. "All I care about is killing you so that no Digimon will ever be able to stand up to me again! It's time to die, Equistedramon!"

"Equistedramon, get out of his way!" UlforceVeedramon shouted as Equistedramon made no attempt to move out of DarkEquistedramon's path.

"What are you thinking, Equistedramon!?" OmniShoutmon called. "Move it, or you'll get skewered on that sword of his!"

" _Guys,_ " Equistedramon's voice echoed throughout UlforceVeedramon's and OmniShoutmon's minds. " _There's only one way to take out DarkEquistedramon for good._ "

" _Equistedramon?_ " UlforceVeedramon asked uncertainly, noting the tone in Equistedramon voice. " _What are you planning to do?_ "

" _The Digital World will fall in ruin if DarkEquistedramon wins, but there'll be never-ending wars if I survive and he gets away. There's only one thing I can do: I'm going down, and I'm taking DarkEquistedramon with me._ "

" _No, don't do it!_ " OmniShoutmon pleaded. " _There has to be another way-!_ "

" _There's no time to argue!_ " Equistedramon roughly cut him off, and OmniShoutmon visibly flinched. " _It will be better if the both of us are gone. The two of us just have too much power for anyone in the whole Digital World to handle! If we stick around, we might just lead this world to its destruction! OmniShoutmon, UlforceVeedramon, I'm sorry for doing this to you. But as a Royal Knight, it is my job to protect this world!_ "

" _Equistedramon!_ " OmniShoutmon and UlforceVeedramon mentally cried out, but Equistedramon had already cut off the mental connection.

The whole conversation had taken less than a second, and the four dragons on the ground were still looking up at the sky, where DarkEquistedramon was still rushing towards Equistedramon.

Just before DarkEquistedramon reached Equistedramon, Equistedramon purposely dropped his shield, and let his sword arm swing out to his side.

That was when DarkEquistedramon's purple and bronze sword stabbed Equistedramon squarely in the middle of his chest. The sword went straight through Equistedramon's armor, through his body, then out the back.

Imperialdramon, Dorbickmon, OmniShoutmon, and UlforceVeedramon stared up at the scene in horror while Equistedramon's blood began to rain down on them. DarkEquistedramon looked into Equistedramon's eyes with his rival's blood running over his hands and an expression of pure disbelief on his face from under the armor. But what DarkEquistedramon didn't see was Equistedramon's sword moving towards him.

Equistedramon's silver and gold sword cut cleanly through DarkEquistedramon's armor at the waist and continued to slice through the flesh, tearing straight through his spine and ribs in the process. The sword stopped just before reaching the other side of DarkEquistedramon's waist, dealing a far worse blow than DarkEquistedramon had given him.

The two Dragon Knight Digimon floated there in the air for a second or two, not moving an inch. Then, blood sprayed out of DarkEquistedramon's wound, and the two halves simultaneously coughed blood in each other's faces. Unable to keep themselves airborne after being so grievously injured, the two of them began to fall.

"Damn… you… you bastard!" DarkEquistedramon chocked, coughing up more blood.

"Heh… it will be worth… the trade off!" Equistedramon groaned, coughing up more of his own blood.

"Equistedramon!" OmniShoutmon, UlforceVeedramon, Dorbickmon, and Imperialdramon yelled. OmniShoutmon and UlforceVeedramon leapt into the air attempting to catch Equistedramon before he hit the ground.

Without warning, the sky ripped apart. A yellow ring of energy appeared out of nowhere, and green and yellow light poured out of it.

"It's a Digital Gate!" UlforceVeedramon shouted.

"Why the hell would one open now!?" OmniShoutmon cried.

"I don't know, but we better hurry; Equistedramon is on path to fall right into that thing!"

But they were too late. Equistedramon and DarkEquistedramon both fell through the Digital Gate just as it began to shrink. By the time UlforceVeedramon and OmniShoutmon reached it, it had vanished into nothingness.

"Equistedramon!"

ΩΩΩ

It was late afternoon when the young man on the park bench began to come around. When he opened his eyes, he instantly knew that he had no idea where he was. For that matter, he couldn't even remember any details about himself.

He felt something between his rear end and the hard, wooden bench, and he pulled a wallet out of his back pocket. He flipped it open and looked at the ID card inside.

The name read Roxas Delts.

 _To Be Continued…_


End file.
